LymPHOS: design of a phosphosite database of primary human T cells.

Current proteomic technology is capable of producing huge amounts of analytical information, which is often difficult to manage in a comprehensive form. Curation, further annotation and public communication of proteomic data require the development of standard data formats and efficient, multimedia database structures. We have implemented a workflow for the annotation of a phosphopeptide database (LymPHOS) that includes tools for MS data filtering and phosphosite assignation, mass spectrum visualization, experimental description and accurate phosphorylation site assignation. Experimental annotations were fitted to current minimum information about a proteomics experiment guidelines. A new guideline for phosphoprotein sample preparation is also proposed. Currently, the database describes 342 phosphorylation sites mapping to more than 200 gene sequences, and it can be accessed through the net (http://www.lymphos.org).