Go!Poly: A gene-oriented polymorphism database

Human genome polymorphisms play a key role in defining the molecular basis of phenotypic differences between individuals in aspects such as disease su sceptibility and drug responses. The database requirements for supporting t he study of human genetic variation have been well recognized. In order to meet these needs, several generalized databases have been built. However, i t is still hard for users to find gene-related variation data from these hu ge and sophisticated databases. In its role as a gene-oriented directory of polymorphism data, Go!Poly (Gene Oriented Polymorphism Database; http://61 .139.84.5/gopoly/) utilizes two new highly curated and non-redundant resour ces, LocusLink (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/) and RefSeq (http:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/refseq.html), as the standard for identifyin g and positioning nucleotide variations. As a generalized polymorphism data base, Go!Poly extracts human gene, linked sequence variations of all common types (SNP, insertion-deletion, simple tandem repeat, and complex nucleoti des variations) from various public resources including scientific journals and internet resources, such as HGBASE (http://hgbase.cgr.ki.se) and dbSNP (http://www.ncbi.nhn.nih.gov/SNPn/). The polymorphism data are then catego rized into different gene loci, and the reference sequences given by LocusL ink are used as positioning references. Through close integration with Locu sLink, Go!Poly also provides facilitated connections among sequence data, g ene name, and related biological information. This feature also makes Go!Po ly easy to search and navigate. Future automated annotations and internal c onsistency checking may also benefit from this. Extensive efforts are being taken to make the polymorphism information generated by the Chinese scient ific community available from this resource. Hum Mutat 18:382-387, 2001. (C ) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.