BACKGROUND: The first Korean individual diploid genome sequence data (KOREF) was publicized in December 2008. RESULTS: A Korean genome variation analysis and browsing server (Gevab) was constructed as a database and web server for the exploration and downloading of Korean personal genome(s). Information in the Gevab includes SNPs, short indels, and structural variation (SV) and comparison analysis between the NCBI human reference and the Korean genome(s). The user can find information on assembled consensus sequences, sequenced short reads, genetic variations, and relationships between genotype and phenotypes. CONCLUSION: This server is openly and publicly available online at http://koreagenome.org/en/ or directly http://gevab.org.

UNLABELLED: Bioinformatics involves the collection, organization and analysis of large amounts of biological data, using networks of computers and databases. Developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region are just moving into this new field of information-based biotechnology. However, the computational infrastructure and network bandwidths available in these countries are still at a basic level compared to that in developed countries. In this study, we assessed the utility of a BitTorrent-based Peer-to-Peer (btP2P) file distribution model for automatic synchronization and distribution of large amounts of biological data among developing countries. The initial country-level nodes in the Asia-Pacific region comprised Thailand, Korea and Singapore. The results showed a significant improvement in download performance using btP2P--three times faster overall download performance than conventional File Transfer Protocol (FTP). This study demonstrated the reliability of btP2P in the dissemination of continuously growing multi-gigabyte biological databases across the three Asia-Pacific countries. The download performance for btP2P can be further improved by including more nodes from other countries into the network. This suggests that the btP2P technology is appropriate for automatic synchronization and distribution of biological databases and software over low-bandwidth networks among developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. AVAILABILITY: http://everest.bic.nus.edu.sg/p2p/

BACKGROUND: Cyanobacteria are model organisms for studying photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, evolution of plant plastids, and adaptability to environmental stresses. Despite many studies on cyanobacteria, there is no web-based database of their regulatory and signaling protein-protein interaction networks to date. DESCRIPTION: We report a database and website SynechoNET that provides predicted protein-protein interactions. SynechoNET shows cyanobacterial domain-domain interactions as well as their protein-level interactions using the model cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. It predicts the protein-protein interactions using public interaction databases that contain mutually complementary and redundant data. Furthermore, SynechoNET provides information on transmembrane topology, signal peptide, and domain structure in order to support the analysis of regulatory membrane proteins. Such biological information can be queried and visualized in user-friendly web interfaces that include the interactive network viewer and search pages by keyword and functional category. CONCLUSION: SynechoNET is an integrated protein-protein interaction database designed to analyze regulatory membrane proteins in cyanobacteria. It provides a platform for biologists to extend the genomic data of cyanobacteria by predicting interaction partners, membrane association, and membrane topology of Synechocystis proteins. SynechoNET is freely available at http://synechocystis.org/ or directly at http://bioportal.kobic.kr/SynechoNET/.

BACKGROUND: Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is becoming a key research in genomics fields. Many functional analyses of SNPs have been carried out for coding regions and splicing sites that can alter proteins and mRNA splicing. However, SNPs in non-coding regulatory regions can also influence important biological regulation. Presently, there are few databases for SNPs in non-coding regulatory regions. DESCRIPTION: We identified 488,452 human SNPs in the putative promoter regions that extended from the +5000 bp to -500 bp region of the transcription start sites. Some SNPs occurring in transcription factor (TF) binding sites were also predicted (47,832 SNP; 9.8%). The result is stored in a database: SNP@promoter. Users can search the SNP@Promoter database using three entries: 1) by SNP identifier (rs number from dbSNP), 2) by gene (gene name, gene symbol, refSeq ID), and 3) by disease term. The SNP@Promoter database provides extensive genetic information and graphical views of queried terms. CONCLUSION: We present the SNP@Promoter database. It was created in order to predict functional SNPs in putative promoter regions and predicted transcription factor binding sites. SNP@Promoter will help researchers to identify functional SNPs in non-coding regions.

UNLABELLED: Elucidating the effects of genetic polymorphisms on genes and gene networks is an important step in disease association studies. We developed the SNP2NMD database for human SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) that result in PTCs (premature termination codons) and trigger nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). The SNP2NMD Web interfaces provide extensive genetic information on and graphical views of the queried SNP, gene, and disease terms. AVAILABILITY: SNP2NMD is available from http://variome.net, or directly from http://bioportal.kobic.re.kr/SNP2NMD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: http://bioportal.kobic.re.kr/SNP2NMD/Wiki.jsp?page=Statistics.

SUMMARY: HESAS (HERVs Expression and Structure Analysis System) database was developed to understand the human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) that have an effect on the expression of human functional genes. The database products are generated by the exon-based expressed sequence tag clustering and reconstructing of partial HERV structures that result from various mutations during primate evolution. The expression types were classified according to the existence of splicing, transcriptional start and polyadenylation signal sites. The database currently contains HERV information on 26,981 human genes of exon-intron structure. The HERV elements were inserted into 17,317 of these genes and linked to expression with 898 genes. AVAILABILITY: http://www.primate.or.kr/HESAS CONTACT: [email protected].