The Histone Database: a comprehensive WWW resource for histones and histone fold-containing proteins

The Histone Database (HDB) is an annotated and searchable collection of all full-length sequences and structures of histone and non-histone proteins c ontaining the histone fold motif. These sequences are both eukaryotic and a rchaeal in origin. Several new histone fold-containing proteins have been i dentified, including Spt7p, and a few false positives have been removed fro m the earlier version of HDB. Database contents include compilations of pos t-translational modifications for each of the core and linker histones, as well as genomic information in the form of map loci for the human histone g ene complement, with the genetic loci linked to Online Mendelian Inheritanc e in Man (OMIM). Conflicts between similar sequence entries from a number o f source databases are also documented. Newly added to the HDB are multiple sequence alignments in which predicted functions of histone fold amino aci d residues are annotated. The database is freely accessible through the WWW at http://genome.nhgri.nih.gov/histones/.