The Los Alamos hepatitis C sequence database

MOTIVATION: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant threat to public health worldwide. The virus is highly variable and evolves rapidly, making it an elusive target for the immune system and for vaccine and drug design. At present, some 30 000 HCV sequences have been published. A central website that provides annotated sequences and analysis tools will be helpful to HCV scientists worldwide. RESULTS: The HCV sequence database collects and annotates sequence data and provides them to the public via a website that contains a user-friendly search interface and a large number of sequence analysis tools, based on the model of the highly regarded Los Alamos HIV database. The HCV sequence database was officially launched in September 2003. Since then, its usage has steadily increased and is now at an average of approximately 280 visits per day from distinct IP addresses. AVAILABILITY: The HCV website can be accessed via http://hcv.lanl.gov and http://hcv-db.org.     

HCVDB

To date, more than 30 000 hepatitis C virus (HCV) sequences have been deposited in the generalist databases DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ), EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (EMBL) and GenBank. The main difficulties with HCV sequences in these databases are their retrieval, annotation and analyses. To help HCV researchers face the increasing needs of HCV sequence analyses, we developed a specialised database of computer-annotated HCV sequences, called HCVDB. HCVDB is re-built every month from an up-to-date EMBL database by an automated process. HCVDB provides key data about the HCV sequences (e.g. genotype, genomic region, protein names and functions, known 3-dimensional structures) and ensures consistency of the annotations, which enables reliable keyword queries. The database is highly integrated with sequence and structure analysis tools and the SRS (LION bioscience) keywords query system. Thus, any user can extract subsets of sequences matching particular criteria or enter their own sequences and analyse them with various bioinformatics programs available on the same server. AVAILABILITY: HCVDB is available from http://hepatitis.ibcp.fr.     

DIP, the Database of Interacting Proteins: a research tool for studying cellular networks of protein interactions

The Database of Interacting Proteins (DIP: http://dip.doe-mbi.ucla.edu) is a database that documents experimentally determined protein–protein interactions. It provides the scientific community with an integrated set of tools for browsing and extracting information about protein interaction networks. As of September 2001, the DIP catalogs ~11 000 unique interactions among 5900 proteins from >80 organisms; the vast majority from yeast, Helicobacter pylori and human. Tools have been developed that allow users to analyze, visualize and integrate their own experimental data with the information about protein–protein interactions available in the DIP database.     

A database of recombinant viruses and recombinant viral vectors available from the RIKEN DNA bank

BACKGROUND: Viral vectors are required as gene-delivery systems for gene therapy and basic research. Recombinant adenoviruses (rAds) expressing genes of interest are being developed as research tools and many studies in vitro and in vivo have already been performed with such rAds. METHODS: Shuttle vectors for rAds were constructed with full-length cDNAs and rAds were generated in HEK293 cells by the COS-TPC method. The rAds and shuttle vectors were developed by the Japanese research community and deposited in the RIKEN DNA Bank (RDB; http://www.brc.riken.jp/lab/dna/en/) for distribution to the scientific community. The Recombinant Virus Database (RVD; http://www.brc.riken.jp/lab/dna/rvd/) was established at the RIKEN BioResource Center (BRC) in Japan as the source of information about and distribution of the various resources. RESULTS: The RIKEN BRC is releasing more than 300 recombinant viruses (RVs) and 500 shuttle vectors, as well as all related information, which is included in a newly established database, the RVD. The RVD consists of (i) information about the RVs, the inserted cDNAs and the shuttle vectors; (ii) data about sequence-tagged sites (STSs) that are markers of viral DNAs; and (iii) experimental protocols for the use of RVs. CONCLUSIONS: The new database and available resources should be very useful to scientists who are studying human gene therapy and performing related basic research. It is a web-interfaced flat-file database that can be accessed through the internet. Moreover, all of the resources deposited in the RDB, which is a public facility in Japan, are available to researchers around the world.     

The protein information resource (PIR)

The Protein Information Resource (PIR) produces the largest, most comprehensive, annotated protein sequence database in the public domain, the PIR-International Protein Sequence Database, in collaboration with the Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences (MIPS) and the Japan International Protein Sequence Database (JIPID). The expanded PIR WWW site allows sequence similarity and text searching of the Protein Sequence Database and auxiliary databases. Several new web-based search engines combine searches of sequence similarity and database annotation to facilitate the analysis and functional identification of proteins. New capabilities for searching the PIR sequence databases include annotation-sorted search, domain search, combined global and domain search, and interactive text searches. The PIR-International databases and search tools are accessible on the PIR WWW site at http://pir.georgetown.edu and at the MIPS WWW site at http://www. mips.biochem.mpg.de. The PIR-International Protein Sequence Database and other files are also available by FTP.     

The Database of Ribosomal Cross-links: an update.

The Database of Ribosomal Cross-links (DRC) was created in 1997. Here we describe new data incorporated into this database and several new features of the DRC. The DRC is freely available via World Wide Web at http://visitweb.com/database/ or http://www. mpimg-berlin-dahlem.mpg.de/ approximately ag_ribo/ag_brimacombe/drc/     

The UCSC Genome Browser Database

The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Genome Browser Database is an up to date source for genome sequence data integrated with a large collection of related annotations. The database is optimized to support fast interactive performance with the web-based UCSC Genome Browser, a tool built on top of the database for rapid visualization and querying of the data at many levels. The annotations for a given genome are displayed in the browser as a series of tracks aligned with the genomic sequence. Sequence data and annotations may also be viewed in a text-based tabular format or downloaded as tab-delimited flat files. The Genome Browser Database, browsing tools and downloadable data files can all be found on the UCSC Genome Bioinformatics website (http://genome.ucsc.edu), which also contains links to documentation and related technical information.     

The genome sequence DataBase

The Genome Sequence DataBase (GSDB) is a database of publicly available nucleotide sequences and their associated biological and bibliographic information. Several notable changes have occurred in the past year: GSDB stopped accepting data submissions from researchers; ownership of data submitted to GSDB was transferred to GenBank; sequence analysis capabilities were expanded to include Smith-Waterman and Frame Search; and Sequence Viewer became available to Mac users. The content of GSDB remains up-to-date because publicly available data is acquired from the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration databases (IC) on a nightly basis. This allows GSDB to continue providing researchers with the ability to analyze, query and retrieve nucleotide sequences in the database. GSDB and its related tools are freely accessible from the URL: http://www.ncgr.org     

The UAB Proteomics Database

SUMMARY: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Proteomics Database (UPD) (http://www.uab.edu/proteinmenu) was created to provide a repository for the storage and linkage of two-dimensional (2D) gel images and the associated information obtained through mass spectrometry analysis of the proteins excised from the 2D gels in a manner similar to the SWISS-2DPAGE database and the Stanford Microarray Database. This was accomplished through the development of a web interface, a relational database, image maps and hyperlinks stored in the database. In addition to the internally generated data, UPD provides links to the National Center for Biotechnology Information via accession number hyperlinks. UPD currently contains information on 44 individual proteins derived from four experiments conducted by four UAB faculty members. Images of the gels from which each of these proteins was isolated are accessed by hyperlinks embedded in the database. AVAILABILITY: The UAB Proteomics Database can be accessed at http://www.uab.edu/proteinmenu.     

Protein Information Resource: a community resource for expert annotation of protein data

The Protein Information Resource, in collaboration with the Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences (MIPS) and the Japan International Protein Information Database (JIPID), produces the most comprehensive and expertly annotated protein sequence database in the public domain, the PIR-International Protein Sequence Database. To provide timely and high quality annotation and promote database interoperability, the PIR-International employs rule-based and classification-driven procedures based on controlled vocabulary and standard nomenclature and includes status tags to distinguish experimentally determined from predicted protein features. The database contains about 200,000 non-redundant protein sequences, which are classified into families and superfamilies and their domains and motifs identified. Entries are extensively cross-referenced to other sequence, classification, genome, structure and activity databases. The PIR web site features search engines that use sequence similarity and database annotation to facilitate the analysis and functional identification of proteins. The PIR-Inter-national databases and search tools are accessible on the PIR web site at http://pir.georgetown.edu/ and at the MIPS web site at http://www.mips.biochem.mpg.de. The PIR-International Protein Sequence Database and other files are also available by FTP.     

The EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database: major new developments

The EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/embl/) incorporates, organizes and distributes nucleotide sequences from all available public sources. The database is located and maintained at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) near Cambridge, UK. In an international collaboration with DDBJ (Japan) and GenBank (USA), data are exchanged amongst the collaborating databases on a daily basis to achieve optimal synchronization. Webin is the preferred web-based submission system for individual submitters, while automatic procedures allow incorporation of sequence data from large-scale genome sequencing centres and from the European Patent Office (EPO). Database releases are produced quarterly. Network services allow free access to the most up-to-date data collection via FTP, Email and World Wide Web interfaces. EBI's Sequence Retrieval System (SRS) integrates and links the main nucleotide and protein databases plus many other specialized molecular biology databases. For sequence similarity searching, a variety of tools (e.g. Fasta, BLAST) are available which allow external users to compare their own sequences against the latest data in the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database and SWISS-PROT. All resources can be accessed via the EBI home page at http://www.ebi.ac.uk.     

ALFRED: an allele frequency database for diverse populations and DNA polymorphisms--an update

ALFRED (the ALelle FREquency Database) is designed to store and disseminate frequencies of alleles at human polymorphic sites for multiple populations, primarily for the population genetics and molecular anthropology communities. Currently ALFRED has information on over 180 polymorphic sites for more than 70 populations. Since our initial release of the database we have focussed on increasing the quantity and quality of data, making reciprocal links between ALFRED and other related databases, and providing useful tools to make the data more comprehensible to the end user. ALFRED is accessible from the Kidd Lab home page (http://info.med.yale. edu/genetics/kkidd/) or from ALFRED directly (http://alfred.med.yale. edu/alfred/index.asp).     

The Stanford Microarray Database: data access and quality assessment tools

The Stanford Microarray Database (SMD; http://genome-www.stanford.edu/microarray/) serves as a microarray research database for Stanford investigators and their collaborators. In addition, SMD functions as a resource for the entire scientific community, by making freely available all of its source code and providing full public access to data published by SMD users, along with many tools to explore and analyze those data. SMD currently provides public access to data from 3500 microarrays, including data from 85 publications, and this total is increasing rapidly. In this article, we describe some of SMD's newer tools for accessing public data, assessing data quality and for data analysis.     

BioGRID REST Service, BiogridPlugin2 and BioGRID WebGraph: new tools for access to interaction data at BioGRID

The Biological General Repository for Interaction Datasets (BioGRID) representational state transfer (REST) service allows full URL-based access to curated protein and genetic interaction data at the BioGRID database. Appending URL parameters allows filtering of data by various attributes including gene names and identifiers, PubMed ID and evidence type. We also describe two visualization tools that interface with the REST service, the BiogridPlugin2 for Cytoscape and the BioGRID WebGraph. Availability and implementation: BioGRID data and applications are completely free for commercial and non-commercial use. http://webservice.thebiogrid.org/resources/interactions (REST Service), http://wiki.thebiogrid.org/doku.php/biogridrest(REST Service parameter list and help), http://webservice.thebiogrid.org/resources/application.wadl(REST Service WADL), http://thebiogrid.org/download.php (BiogridPlugin2, v2.1 download), http://wiki.thebiogrid.org/doku.php/biogridplugin2 (BiogridPlugin2 help) and http://tyerslab.bio.ed.ac.uk/tools/BioGRID_webgraph.php(BioGRID WebGraph).     

READ: RIKEN Expression Array Database

READ, the RIKEN Expression Array Database, is a database of expression profile data from the RIKEN mouse cDNA microarray. It stores the microarray experimental data and information, and provides Web interfaces for researchers to use to retrieve, analyze and display their data. The goals for READ are to serve as a storage site for microarray data from ongoing research in the RIKEN mouse encyclopedia project and to provide useful links and tools to decipher biologically important information. The gene information is based mainly on the fully annotated FANTOM database. READ can be accessed at http://read.gsc.riken.go.jp/. READ also provides a search tool [READ integrates gene expression neighbor (RINGENE)] for genes with similarities in expression profiling.     

Increased coverage of protein families with the blocks database servers

The Blocks Database WWW (http://blocks.fhcrc.org ) and Email (blocks@blocks.fhcrc.org ) servers provide tools to search DNA and protein queries against the Blocks+ Database of multiple alignments, which represent conserved protein regions. Blocks+ nearly doubles the number of protein families included in the database by adding families from the Pfam-A, ProDom and Domo databases to those from PROSITE and PRINTS. Other new features include improved Block Searcher statistics, searching with NCBI's IMPALA program and 3D display of blocks on PDB structures.     

The EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database

The EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (aka EMBL-Bank; http://www.ebi.ac.uk/embl/) incorporates, organises and distributes nucleotide sequences from all available public sources. EMBL-Bank is located and maintained at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) near Cambridge, UK. In an international collaboration with DDBJ (Japan) and GenBank (USA), data are exchanged amongst the collaborating databases on a daily basis. Major contributors to the EMBL database are individual scientists and genome project groups. Webin is the preferred web-based submission system for individual submitters, whilst automatic procedures allow incorporation of sequence data from large-scale genome sequencing centres and from the European Patent Office (EPO). Database releases are produced quarterly. Network services allow free access to the most up-to-date data collection via FTP, email and World Wide Web interfaces. EBI’s Sequence Retrieval System (SRS), a network browser for databanks in molecular biology, integrates and links the main nucleotide and protein databases plus many other specialized databases. For sequence similarity searching, a variety of tools (e.g. Blitz, Fasta, BLAST) are available which allow external users to compare their own sequences against the latest data in the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database and SWISS-PROT. All resources can be accessed via the EBI home page at http://www.ebi.ac.uk.     

New features of the Blocks Database servers.

Blocks are ungapped multiple sequence alignments representing conserved protein regions, and the Blocks Database consists of blocks from documented protein families. World Wide Web (http://www. blocks.fhcrc.org) and Email (blocks@blocks.fhcrc.org) servers provide tools for homology searching and for analyzing protein family relationships. New enhancements include a multiple alignment processor that extends the use of these tools to imported multiple alignments of families not present in the database and a PCR primer designer that implements a new strategy for gene isolation.     

DIP: The Database of Interacting Proteins: 2001 update

The Database of Interacting Proteins (DIP; http://dip.doe-mbi.ucla. edu) is a database that documents experimentally determined protein-protein interactions. Since January 2000 the number of protein-protein interactions in DIP has nearly tripled to 3472 and the number of proteins to 2659. New interactive tools have been developed to aid in the visualization, navigation and study of networks of protein interactions.     

A kinase sequence database: sequence alignments and family assignment

SUMMARY: The Kinase Sequence Database (KSD) located at http://kinase.ucsf.edu/ksd contains information on 290 protein kinase families derived by profile-based clustering of the non-redundant list of sequences obtained from a GenBank-wide search. Included in the database are a total of 5,041 protein kinases from over 100 organisms. Clustering into families is based on the extent of homology within the kinase catalytic domain (250-300 residues in length). Alignments of the families are viewed by interactive Excel-based sequence spreadsheets. In addition, KSD features evolutionary trees derived for each family and detailed information on each sequence as well as links to the corresponding GenBank entries. Sequence manipulation tools, such as evolutionary tree generation, novel sequence assignment, and statistical analysis, are also provided. AVAILABILITY: The kinase sequence database is a web-based service accessible at http://kinase.ucsf.edu/ksd CONTACT: buzko@cmp.ucsf.edu; shokat@cmp.ucsf.edu/ksd