Ellis, L.B., Hershberger, C.D., Bryan, E.M., and Wackett, L.P.. "The University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database: emphasizing enzymes." Nucleic Acids Res. 29
(1).
2001.
pp. 340-3.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
The University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database (UM-BBD, http://umbbd.ahc.umn.edu/) provides curated information on microbial catabolic enzymes and their organization into metabolic pathways. Currently, it contains information on over 400 enzymes. In the last year the enzyme page was enhanced to contain more internal and external links; it also displays the different metabolic pathways in which each enzyme participates. In collaboration with the Nomenclature Commission of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 35 UM-BBD enzymes were assigned complete EC codes during 2000. Bacterial oxygenases are heavily represented in the UM-BBD; they are known to have broad substrate specificity. A compilation of known reactions of naphthalene and toluene dioxygenases were recently added to the UM-BBD; 73 and 108 were listed respectively. In 2000 the UM-BBD is mirrored by two prestigious groups: the European Bioinformatics Institute and KEGG (the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes). Collaborations with other groups are being developed. The increased emphasis on UM-BBD enzymes is important for predicting novel metabolic pathways that might exist in nature or could be engineered. It also is important for current efforts in microbial genome annotation.
Keywords: Bacteria_genetics ; Bacteria_metabolism ; Biodegradation ; Catalysis ; *Databases Factual ; Enzymes_genetics ; Enzymes_*metabolism ; Fungi_genetics ; Fungi_metabolism ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Internet
Ellis, L.B., Hershberger, C.D., and Wackett, L.P.. "The University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database: specialized metabolism for functional genomics." Nucleic Acids Res. 27
(1).
1999.
pp. 373-6.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
The University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database (UM-BBD, http://www.labmed.umn.edu/umbbd/i nde x.html) first became available on the web in 1995 to provide information on microbial biocatalytic reactions of, and biodegradation pathways for, organic chemical compounds, especially those produced by man. Its goal is to become a representative database of biodegradation, spanning the diversity of known microbial metabolic routes, organic functional groups, and environmental conditions under which biodegradation occurs. The database can be used to enhance understanding of basic biochemistry, biocatalysis leading to speciality chemical manufacture, and biodegradation of environmental pollutants. It is also a resource for functional genomics, since it contains information on enzymes and genes involved in specialized metabolism not found in intermediary metabolism databases, and thus can assist in assigning functions to genes homologous to such less common genes. With information on >400 reactions and compounds, it is poised to become a resource for prediction of microbial biodegradation pathways for compounds it does not contain, a process complementary to predicting the functions of new classes of microbial genes.
Keywords: Bacteria_genetics ; Bacteria_*metabolism ; Bacterial Proteins_metabolism ; *Biodegradation ; Biotechnology ; *Catalysis ; *Databases Factual_trends ; Environmental Pollution ; Enzymes_chemistry ; Enzymes_genetics ; Enzymes_metabolism ; Genes ; Bacterial_genetics ; Genes ; Bacterial_physiology ; Human ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Internet ; Minnesota ; Universities
Karp, P.D., Riley, M., Paley, S.M., and Pellegrini-Toole, A.. "The MetaCyc Database." Nucleic Acids Res. 30
(1).
2002.
pp. 59-61.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
MetaCyc is a metabolic-pathway database that describes 445 pathways and 1115 enzymes occurring in 158 organisms. MetaCyc is a review-level database in that a given entry in MetaCyc often integrates information from multiple literature sources. The pathways in MetaCyc were determined experimentally and are labeled with the species in which they are known to occur based on literature references examined to date. MetaCyc contains extensive commentary and literature citations. Applications of MetaCyc include pathway analysis of genomes, metabolic engineering and biochemistry education. MetaCyc is queried using the Pathway Tools graphical user interface, which provides a wide variety of query operations and visualization tools. MetaCyc is available via the World Wide Web at http://ecocyc.org/ecocyc/metacyc.html, and is available for local installation as a binary program for the PC and the Sun workstation, and as a set of flatfiles. Contact metacyc-info
Keywords: Comparative Study ; Database Management Systems ; *Databases Protein ; Enzymes_chemistry ; Enzymes_*metabolism ; Genome ; Human ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Internet ; *Metabolism
Karp, P.D., Riley, M., Paley, S.M., and Pellegrini-Toole, A.. "EcoCyc: an encyclopedia of Escherichia coli genes and metabolism." Nucleic Acids Res. 24
(1).
1996.
pp. 32-9.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
The encyclopedia of Escherichia coli genes and metabolism (EcoCyc) is a database that combines information about the genome and the intermediary metabolism of E.coli. It describes 2034 genes, 306 enzymes encoded by these genes, 580 metabolic reactions that occur in E.coli and the organization of these reactions into 100 metabolic pathways. The EcoCyc graphical user interface allows query and exploration of the EcoCyc database using visualization tools such as genomic map browsers and automatic layouts of metabolic pathways. EcoCyc spans the space from sequence to function to allow investigation of an unusually broad range of questions. EcoCyc can be thought of as both an electronic review article, because of its copious references to the primary literature, and as an in silico model of E.coli that can be probed and analyzed through computational means.
Keywords: Computer Communication Networks ; *Databases Factual ; Enzymes_metabolism ; Escherichia coli_enzymology ; Escherichia coli_*genetics ; Escherichia coli_*metabolism ; *Genome ; Bacterial ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Software ; User-Computer Interface
Karp, P.D., Riley, M., Paley, S.M., Pellegrini-Toole, A., and Krummenacker, M.. "Eco Cyc: encyclopedia of Escherichia coli genes and metabolism." Nucleic Acids Res. 27
(1).
1999.
pp. 55-8.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
The EcoCyc database describes the genome and gene products of Escherichia coli, its metabolic and signal-transduction pathways, and its tRNAs. The database describes 4391 genes of E.coli, 695 enzymes encoded by a subset of these genes, 904 metabolic reactions that occur in E.coli, and the organization of these reactions into 129 metabolic pathways. The EcoCyc graphical user interface allows scientists to query and explore the EcoCyc database using visualization tools such as genomic-map browsers and automatic layouts of metabolic pathways. EcoCyc has many references to the primary literature, and is a (qualitative) computational model of E. coli metabolism. EcoCyc is available at URL http://ecocyc. PangeaSystems.com/ecocyc/
Keywords: Classification ; *Databases Factual ; Enzymes_genetics ; Enzymes_metabolism ; Escherichia coli_*genetics ; Escherichia coli_*metabolism ; *Genes Bacterial ; Genome Bacterial ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Internet ; Signal Transduction ; User-Computer Interface
Kuffner, R., Zimmer, R., and Lengauer, T.. "Pathway analysis in metabolic databases via differential metabolic display (DMD)." Bioinformatics. 16
(9).
2000.
pp. 825-36.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ] [ WebSite ]
MOTIVATION: A number of metabolic databases are available electronically, some with features for querying and visualizing metabolic pathways and regulatory networks. We present a unifying, systematic approach based on PETRI nets for storing, displaying, comparing, searching and simulating such nets from a number of different sources. RESULTS: Information from each data source is extracted and compiled into a PETRI net. Such PETRI nets then allow to investigate the (differential) content in metabolic databases, to map and integrate genomic information and functional annotations, to compare sequence and metabolic databases with respect to their functional annotations, and to define, generate and search paths and pathways in nets. We present an algorithm to systematically generate all pathways satisfying additional constraints in such PETRI nets. Finally, based on the set of valid pathways, so-called differential metabolic displays (DMDs) are introduced to exhibit specific differences between biological systems, i.e. different developmental states, disease states, or different organisms, on the level of paths and pathways. DMDs will be useful for target finding and function prediction, especially in the context of the interpretation of expression data.
Keywords: *Algorithms ; Catalysis ; Computational Biology_*methods ; Computer Simulation ; *Data Display ; *Databases Factual ; Enzymes_genetics ; Enzymes_metabolism ; Glycolysis ; Metabolism_*physiology ; Mycoplasma_metabolism ; Yeasts_metabolism
Zauner, K.P. and Conrad, M.. "Enzymatic computing." Biotechnol Prog. 17
(3).
2001.
pp. 553-9.
[ .pdf ] [ PubMed ]
The conformational dynamics of enzymes is a computational resource that fuses milieu signals in a nonlinear fashion. Response surface methodology can be used to elicit computational functionality from enzyme dynamics. We constructed a tabletop prototype to implement enzymatic signal processing in a device context and employed it in conjunction with malate dehydrogenase to perform the linearly inseparable exclusive-or operation. This shows that proteins can execute signal processing operations that are more complex than those performed by individual threshold elements. We view the experiments reported, though restricted to the two-variable case, as a stepping stone to computational networks that utilize the precise reproducibility of proteins, and the concomitant reproducibility of their nonlinear dynamics, to implement complex pattern transformations.
Keywords: Calcium_chemistry ; Calcium_metabolism ; Enzymes_*chemistry ; Enzymes_*metabolism ; Image Processing ; Computer-Assisted ; Magnesium_chemistry ; Magnesium_metabolism ; Malate Dehydrogenase_chemistry ; Malate Dehydrogenase_metabolism ; Models Chemical ; *Models Molecular ; Osmolar Concentration ; Protein Conformation