OWL - A NONREDUNDANT COMPOSITE PROTEIN-SEQUENCE DATABASE

A comprehensive, non-redundant composite protein sequence database is described. The database, OWL, is an amalgam of data from six publicly- available primary sources, and is generated using strict redundancy cr iteria. The database is updated monthly and its size has increased alm ost eight-fold in the last six years: the current version contains > 7 6000 entries. For added flexibility, OWL is distributed with a tailor- made query language, together with a number of programs for database e xploration, information retrieval and sequence analysis, which togethe r form an integrated database and software resource for protein sequen ces.