GenBank

Abstract

The GenBank (Registered Trademark symbol) sequence database incorporates DNA sequences from all available public sources, primarily through the direct submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submitters use the Bankit (Web) or Sequin programs to format and send sequence data. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive worldwide coverage. GenBank data is accessible through NCBI's integrated retrieval system, Entrez, which integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomy, genome and protein structure information. MEDLINE (Registered Trademark symbol) abstracts from published articles describing the sequences are included as an additional source of biological annotation through the PubMed search system. Sequence similarity searching is offered through the BLAST series of database search programs. In addition to FTP, Email, and server/client versions of Entrez and BLAST, NCBI offers a wide range of World Wide Web retrieval and analysis services based on GenBank data. The GenBank database and related resources are freely accessible via the URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov