Storage And Integration Of Information On Human Protein Sequences

March 17, 2008

Today, scientists have access to a large amount of biological

information through the Internet. Nevertheless, these databases do

not always have the endorsement of experimental evidence, and are

usually distributed in several web locations, a fact that makes

information retrieval difficult to achieve. The Human Proteinpedia is

born from this need to break down barriers. It is a

protein " Wikipedia " , pioneer in this area, allowing researchers to

share and integrate - freely - information regarding the set of

proteins expressed by the human genome.

This new resource of scientific information would not have been

possible without the participation of 71 laboratories of genetics and

proteomics from around the globe. The Spanish participation in this

project is represented by the Research Group on Human Genetics, of

the Institut d'Investigacions August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS)/Faculty of

Medicine (Universitat de Barcelona), with Dr. Oliva, Dr.

Martínez-Heredia, and Dr. José Vidal, and the Unit of Genomics

and Proteomics of the Cancer Research Centre (Universidad de

Salamanca-CSIC) led by Dr. Xosé R. Bustelo and Dr. Nieves Ibarrola.

The main objective of the Human Proteinpedia is to promote the

exchange of genetic information among researchers. With this aim, it

offers a standard and centred vision of the proteome, i. e., the

whole of sequences of proteins encoded by the human genome and

information associated to it. Registered users will be able to

include, retrieve and share data about sequences, structures or

mutations validated by experimental evidence, since original

information can only be modified by the user that has contributed

that piece of data.

Thus, the information deposited in the Human Proteinpedia forms an

unprecedented database which helps comparing and interpreting protein

sequences supplied by the scientific community. The main aim of this

tool, which has been under operation for about a year, is to

integrate and share the identification and sequencing of proteins in

published studies, which will permit to make progress in the study of

genes and of the proteins involved in human pathologies.

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