Protein databases on the internet.

Protein databases have become a crucial part of modern biology. Huge amounts of data for protein structures, functions, and particularly sequences are being generated. Searching databases is often the first step in the study of a new protein. Comparison between proteins or between protein families provides information about the relationship between proteins within a genome or across different species, and hence offers much more information than can be obtained by studying only an isolated protein. In addition, secondary databases derived from experimental databases are also widely available. These databases reorganize and annotate the data or provide predictions. The use of multiple databases often helps researchers understand the structure and function of a protein. Although some protein databases are widely known, they are far from being fully utilized in the protein science community. This unit provides a starting point for readers to explore the potential of protein databases on the Internet.