The ENZYME data bank.

The ENZYME data bank is a repository of information relative to the nomenclature of enzymes. It is primarily based on the recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and it contains the following data for each type of characterized enzyme for which an EC (Enzyme Commission) number has been provided: EC number Recommended name Alternative names (if any) Catalytic activity Cofactors (if any) Pointers to the SWISS-PROT protein sequence entrie(s) that correspond to the enzyme (if any) Pointers to human disease(s) associated with a deficiency of the enzyme (if any).     

The ENZYME data bank in 1999.

The ENZYME data bank is a repository of information related to the nomenclature of enzymes. In recent years it has become an indispensable resource for the development of metabolic databases. The current version contains information on 3704 enzymes. It is available through the ExPASy WWW server (http://www.expasy.ch/).     

The protein data bank

The protein data bank (PDB), at Brookhaven National Laboratory, is a database containing information on experimentally determined three-dimensional structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and other biological macromolecules, with approximately 9000 entries. The PDB has a 27-year history of service to a global community of researchers, educators, and students in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. Data are easily submitted via PDB's WWW-based tool AutoDep, in either PDB or mmCIF format, and are most conveniently examined via PDB's WWW-based tool 3DB Browser. Collaborative centers have been, and continue to be, established worldwide to assist in data deposition, archiving, and distribution.This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The SWISS-PROT protein sequence data bank: current status.

SWISS-PROT is an annotated protein sequence database established in 1986 and maintained collaboratively, since 1988, by the Department of Medical Biochemistry of the University of Geneva and the EMBL Data Library. The SWISS-PROT protein sequence data bank consist of sequence entries. Sequence entries are composed of different lines types, each with their own format. For standardization purposes the format of SWISS-PROT follows as closely as possible that of the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database. A sample SWISS-PROT entry is shown in Figure 1.     

The microbiological data base of the data bank project BD1

The aim of the project BD1 (Biotechnology Data Bank 1) is to improve the data processing for research in biotechnology. In BD1, data of several classes of objects and methods are compiled. A data file conception consisting of object data files, method data files and feature data files was created, which can be easily extended to further classes, and which allows the combination of different classes of features to the same class of objects. There are two main approaches to use BD1: 1. making available informations on certain biotechnological objects, 2. the identification of unknown objects by means of their feature pattern. The microbiological data base and the possibilities of data base search are presented by example of lactic acid bacteria.     

A data bank merging related protein structures and sequences.

A data collection which merges protein structural and sequence information is described. Structural superpositions amongst proteins with similar main-chain fold were performed or collected from the literature. Sequences taken from the protein primary structure databases were associated with the multiple structural alignments providing they were at least 50% homologous in residue identity to one of the structural sequences and at least 50% of the structural sequence residues were alignable. Such restrictions allow reasonable confidence that the primary sequences share the conformation of the tertiary structural templates, except in the less conserved loop regions. Multiple structural superpositions were collected for 38 familial groups containing a total of 209 tertiary structures; 45 structures had no superposable mates and were used individually. Other information is also provided as main-chain and side-chain conformational angles, secondary structural assignments and the like. Wedding the primary and tertiary structural data resulted in an 8-fold increase of data bank sequence entries over those associated with the known three-dimensional architectures alone.     

The ENZYME database in 2000

The ENZYME database is a repository of information related to the nomenclature of enzymes. In recent years it has became an indispensable resource for the development of metabolic databases. The current version contains information on 3705 enzymes. It is available through the ExPASy WWW server (http://www.expasy.ch/enzyme/ ).     

Representation of functional information in the SWISS-PROT data bank

Functional information in SWISS-PROT results, primarily, from assessment of articles reporting characterization. Predicted information is labeled with flags describing the evidence level (e.g. potential, probable, by similarity).     

The PROSITE database, its status in 1995.

The PROSITE database consists of biologically significant patterns and profiles formulated in such a way that with appropriate computational tools it can help to determine to which known family of proteins (if any) a new sequence belongs or which known domain(s) it contains.