Swiss-Prot is a searchable database containing various types of information relating to proteins. With Swiss-Prot, users can retrieve information a protein ranging from the complete amino acid sequence of the peptide chain to the taxonomic classification of the source organism. Swiss-Prot records also provide links to other online databases (i.e. Medline, Genbank, Protein Data Bank) that may provide additional information on proteins.
Swiss-Prot was created and is maintained jointly by The Medical Biochemistry Department of the University of Geneva and the European Bioinformatics Institute. The Waksman Challenge is in no way responsible for the creation or upkeep of this resource.
Searching Swiss-Prot is in many ways like searching a library card catalog. The database can be searched by descriptive words, author's name, or accession Swiss Prot accesson numbers. These search options are indicated on the Swiss-Prot inquiry form. The database contains thousands of records, and some practice may be required in order to narrow search results to manageable lists.
If you wish to access a particular Swiss-Prot record on a regular basis, save the accession number of the record. This will allow you to search the database by this number and easily locate the desired protein. Here is a sample Swiss-Prot accession number:
P12067
Try using the search options to access this Swiss-Prot record.
The amino acid sequence of the protein is listed in the last field of the Swiss-Prot record. For example, here is the amino acid sequence for the record defined by our sample accession number:
KVYDRCEFAR ILKKSGMDGY RGVSLANWVC LAKWESDFNT KAINRNVGST DYGIFQINSRYWCNDGKTPK AVNACHISCK VLLDDDLSQD IECAKRVVRD PQGIKAWVAW RTHCQNKDVSQYIRGCKL
The data from Swiss-Prot can be used with many other on-line databases and analysis tools. Examples of tools that use Swiss-Prot data are BLAST and All-All. The Swiss-Prot database offers users the option of submitting protein data directly to the BLAST program for a similarity search.
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