Database Commons

a catalog of worldwide biological databases

GenBank® (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensivepublic data repository that contains 34 trillion base pairs from over 4.7 billion nucleotide sequences for 581 000 formally described species. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. We summarize the content of the database in 2025 and recent updates such as accelerated processing of influenza sequences and the ability to upload feature tables to Submission Portal for messenger RNA sequences. We provide an overview of the webapplication programming and command-line interfaces that allow users to access GenBank data. We also discuss the importance of creating BioProject and BioSample records during submissionsparticularly for viruses and metagenomes. Finallywe summarize educational materials and recent community outreach efforts.

GenBank® (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensivepublic database that contains 15.3 trillion base pairs from over 2.5 billion nucleotide sequences for 504 000 formally described species. Recent updates include resources for data from the SARS-CoV-2 virusincluding a SARS-CoV-2 landing pageNCBI DatasetsNCBI Virus and the Submission Portal. We also discuss upcoming changes to GI identifiersa new data management interface for BioProjectand advice for providing contextual metadata in submissions.

Rapid response to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires fast dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic sequence data in order to align diagnostic tests and vaccines with the natural evolution of the virus as it spreads through the world. To facilitate thisthe National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information developed an automated pipeline for the deposition and quick processing of SARS-CoV-2 genome assemblies into GenBank for the user community. The pipeline ensures the collection of contextual information about the virus sourceassesses sequence quality and annotates descriptive biological featuressuch as protein-coding regions and mature peptides. The process promotes standardized nomenclature and creates and publishes fully processed GenBank files within minutes of deposition. The software has processed and published 982 454 annotated SARS-CoV-2 sequencesas of 21 October 2021. This development addresses the needs of the scientific community as the sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes increases and will facilitate unrestricted access to and usability of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequence dataproviding important reagents for scientific and public health activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Database URL https://submit.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sarscov2/genbank/.

GenBank® (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensivepublic database that contains 9.9 trillion base pairs from over 2.1 billion nucleotide sequences for 478 000 formally described species. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. Recent updates include new resources for data from the SARS-CoV-2 virusupdates to the NCBI Submission Portal and associated submission wizards for dengue and SARS-CoV-2 virusesnew taxonomy queries for viruses and prokaryotesand simplified submission processes for EST and GSS sequences.

GenBank® (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensivepublic database that contains over 6.25 trillion base pairs from over 1.6 billion nucleotide sequences for 450 000 formally described species. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. Recent updates include a new version of Genome Workbench that supports GenBank submissionsnew submission wizards for viral genomesenhancements to BankIt and improved handling of taxonomy for sequences from pathogens.

GenBank® (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for 420 000 formally described species. Most GenBank submissions are made using BankItthe NCBI Submission Portalor the tool tbl2asnand are obtained from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Nucleotide databasewhich links to related information such as taxonomygenomesprotein sequences and structuresand biomedical journal literature in PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. Recent updates include an expansion of sequence identifier formats to accommodate expected database growthsubmission wizards for ribosomal RNAand the transfer of Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) and Genome Survey Sequence (GSS) data into the Nucleotide database.

GenBank® (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for 400 000 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole genome shotgun and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using BankItthe National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Submission Portalor the tool tbl2asn. GenBank staff assign accession numbers upon data receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Nucleotide databasewhich links to related information such as taxonomygenomesprotein sequences and structuresand biomedical journal literature in PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. Recent updates include changes to sequence identifierssubmission wizards for 16S and Influenza sequencesand an Identical Protein Groups resource.

GenBank(®) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for 370 000 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or the NCBI Submission Portal. GenBank staff assign accession numbers upon data receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Nucleotide databasewhich links to related information such as taxonomygenomesprotein sequences and structuresand biomedical journal literature in PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. Recent updates include changes to policies regarding sequence identifiersan improved 16S submission wizardtargeted loci studiesthe ability to submit methylation and BioNano mapping filesand a database of anti-microbial resistance genes. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

GenBank(®) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for over 340 000 formally described species. Recent developments include a new starting page for submittersa shift toward using accession.version identifiers rather than GI numbersa wizard for submitting 16S rRNA sequencesand an Identical Protein Report to address growing issues of data redundancy. GenBank organizes the sequence data received from individual laboratories and large-scale sequencing projects into 18 divisionsand GenBank staff assign unique accession.version identifiers upon data receipt. Most submitters use the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the nuccorenucestand nucgss databases of the Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates these records with a variety of other data including taxonomy nodesgenomesprotein structuresand biomedical journal literature in PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

GenBank(®) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for over 300 000 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole-genome shotgun and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand GenBank staff assign accession numbers upon data receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research 2014. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

GenBank is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for over 280,000 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole-genome shotgun and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand GenBank staff assign accession numbers upon data receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI home page: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank® (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for almost 260 000 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole-genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand GenBank staff assigns accession numbers upon data receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI home page: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank® is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 250,00 formally described species. These sequences are obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole-genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI home page: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank® is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 380,000 organisms named at the genus level or lowerobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval system that integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI Homepage: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 300,000 organisms named at the genus level or lowerobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projectsincluding whole genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Nucleotide Sequence Database in Europe and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bi-monthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI homepage: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 300,000 organisms named at the genus level or lowerobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programsand accession numbers are assigned by GenBank(R) staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Nucleotide Sequence Database in Europe and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Entrez retrieval systemwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI Homepage: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank (R) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 260 000 named organismsobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Nucleotide Sequence Database in Europe and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI Homepage: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank (R) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 240 000 named organismsobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the EMBL Data Library in Europe and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesbegin at the NCBI Homepage (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

GenBank (R) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available DNA sequences for more than 205 000 named organismsobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the Web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the EMBL Data Library in Europe and the DNA Data Bank of Japan ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesgo to the NCBI Homepage at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available DNA sequences for more than 165,000 named organismsobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the EMBL Data Library in the UK and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps to ensure worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesgo to the NCBI Homepage at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available DNA sequences for more than 140 000 named organismsobtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the BankIt (web) or Sequin program and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the EMBL Data Library in the UK and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenome mappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesgo to the NCBI home page at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

GenBank (R) is a comprehensive sequence database that contains publicly available DNA sequences for more than 119 000 different organismsobtained primarily through the submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the BankIt (web) or Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the EMBL Data Library in the UK and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through NCBI's retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical journal literature via PubMed. BLAST provides sequence similarity searches of GenBank and other sequence databases. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. To access GenBank and its related retrieval and analysis servicesgo to the NCBI home page at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

The GenBank sequence database incorporates publicly available DNA sequences of more than 105 000 different organismsprimarily through direct submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the BankIt (web) or Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive worldwide coverage. GenBank data is accessible through NCBI's integrated retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemappingprotein structure and domain informationand the biomedical literature via PubMed. Sequence similarity searching is provided by the BLAST family of programs. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. NCBI also offers a wide range of World Wide Web retrieval and analysis services based on GenBank data. The GenBank database and related resources are freely accessible via the NCBI home page at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

The GenBank((R))sequence database incorporates publicly available DNA sequences of >55 000 different organismsprimarily through direct submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and large-scale sequencing projects. Most submissions are made using the BankIt (Web) or Sequin programs and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive worldwide coverage. GenBank data is accessible through NCBI's integrated retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenomemapping and protein structure informationplus the biomedical literature via PubMed. Sequence similarity searching is provided by the BLAST family of programs. Complete bimonthly releases and daily updates of the GenBank database are available by FTP. NCBI also offers a wide range of WWW retrieval and analysis services based on GenBank data. The GenBank database and related resources are freely accessible via the NCBI home page at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The GenBank (Registered Trademark symbol) sequence database incorporates DNA sequences from all available public sourcesprimarily through the direct submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submitters use the BankIt (Web) or Sequin programs to format and send sequence data. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive worldwide coverage. GenBank data is accessible through NCBI's integrated retrieval systemEntrezwhich integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenome and protein structure information. MEDLINE (Registered Trademark symbol) s from published articles describing the sequences are included as an additional source of biological annotation through the PubMed search system. Sequence similarity searching is offered through the BLAST series of database search programs. In addition to FTPEmailand server/client versions of Entrez and BLASTNCBI offers a wide range of World Wide Web retrieval and analysis services based on GenBank data. The GenBank database and related resources are freely accessible via the URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The GenBank(R) sequence database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) incorporates DNA sequences from all available public sourcesprimarily through the direct submission of sequence data from individual laboratories and from large-scale sequencing projects. Most submitters use the BankIt (WWW) or Sequin programs to send their sequence data. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive worldwide coverage. GenBank data is accessible through NCBI's integrated retrieval systemEntrez which integrates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databases along with taxonomygenome and protein structure information. MEDLINE(R) abstracts from published articles describing the sequences are also included as an additional source of biological annotation. Sequence similarity searching is offered through the BLAST series of database search programs. In addition to FTPe-mail and server/client versions of Entrez and BLASTNCBI offers a wide range of World Wide Web retrieval and analysis services of interest to biologists.

The GenBank sequence database incorporates DNA sequences from all available public sourcesprimarily through the direct submission of sequence data from authors and from large-scale sequencing projects. Data exchange with the EMBL Data Library and the DNA Data Bank of Japan helps ensure comprehensive coverage. GenBank continues to focus on quality control and annotation while expanding data coverage and retrieval services. An integrated retrieval systemknown asEntrezincorporates data from the major DNA and protein sequence databasesalong with genome maps and protein structure information. MEDLINE abstracts from published articles describing the sequences are also included as an additional source of biological annotation. Sequence similarity searching is offered through the BLAST family of programs. All of NCBI's services are offered through the World Wide Web. In additionthere are specialized server/client versions as well as FTP and e-mail server access.

The GenBank sequence database continues to expand its data coveragequality controlannotation content and retrieval services. GenBank is comprised of DNA sequences submitted directly by authors as well as sequences from the other major public databases. An integrated retrieval systemknown as Entrezcontains data from GenBank and from the major protein sequence and structural databasesas well as related MEDLINE abstracts. Users may access GenBank over the Internet through the World Wide Web and through special client-server programs for text and sequence similarity searching. FTPCD-ROM and e-mail servers are alternate means of access.

The GenBank sequence database continues to expand its data coveragequality controlannotation content and retrieval services for the scientific community. Besides handling direct submissions of sequence data from authorsGenBank also incorporates DNA sequences from all available public sources; an integrated retrieval systemknown as Entrezalso makes available data from the major protein sequence and structural databasesand from U.S. and European patents. MIDLINE abstracts from published articles describing the sequences are also included as an additional source of biological annotation for sequence entries. GenBank supports distribution of the data via FTPCD-ROMand E-mail servers. Network server-client programs provide access to an integrated database for literature retrieval and sequence similarity searching.

The GenBank sequence database has undergone an expansion in data coverageannotation content and the development of new services for the scientific community. In addition to nucleotide sequencesdata from the major protein sequence and structural databasesand from U.S. and European patents is now included in an integrated system. MEDLINE abstracts from published articles describing the sequences provide an important new source of biological annotation for sequence entries. In addition to the continued support of existing servicesnew CD-ROM and network-based systems have been implemented for literature retrieval and sequence similarity searching. Major releases of GenBank are now more frequent and the data are distributed in several new forms for both end users and software developers.

The GenBank nucleotide sequence database now contains sequence data and associated annotation corresponding to 85,000,000 nucleotides in 67,000 entries from a total of 3,000 organisms. The input stream of data coming into the database is primarily as direct submissions from the scientific community on electronic mediawith little or no data being keyboarded from the printed page by the databank staff. The data are maintained in a relational database management system and are made available in flatfile form through on-line accessand through various network and off-line computer-readable media. The data are also distributed in relational form through satellite copies at a number of institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere. In additionGenBank provides the U.S. distribution center for the BIOSCI electronic bulletin board service.

The GenBank nucleotide sequence database now contains sequence data and associated annotation corresponding to 56,000,000 nucleotides in 45,000 entries. The input stream of data coming into the database has largely been shifted to direct submissions from the scientific community on electronic media. The data have been installed in a relational database management system and are made available in this form through on-line accessand through various network and off-line computer-readable media. In additionGenBank provides the U.S. distribution center for the BIOSCI electronic bulletin board service.

The GenBank Genetic Sequence Data Bank contains nearly 15,000 entries for DNA and RNA sequences that have been reported since 1967. This paper briefly describes the contents of the databasethe forms in which the data are distributedand the services available to scientists using the GenBank database.

The GenBank Genetic Sequence Data Bank contains over 5700 entries for DNA and RNA sequences that have been reported since 1967. This paper briefly describes the contents of the databasethe forms in which the database is distributedand the services we offer to scientists who use the GenBank database.

The GenBank nucleic acid sequence database is a computer-based collection of all published DNA and RNA sequences; it contains over five million bases in close to six thousand sequence entries drawn from four thousand five hundred published articles. Each sequence is accompanied by relevant biological annotation. The database is available either on magnetic tapeon floppy disketteson-line or in hardcopy form. We discuss the structure of the databasethe extent of the data and the implications of the database for research on nucleic acids.