UniGene

UniGene

UniGene logo

UniGene is a system for automatically partitioning GenBank sequences into a non-redundant set of gene-oriented clusters. Each UniGene cluster contains sequences that represent a unique gene, as well as related information such as the tissue types in which the gene has been expressed and map location.

History

UniGene was developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as a tool to organize and simplify the study of gene expression. It was first introduced in the late 1990s and has since become a valuable resource for researchers in the field of genomics.

Functionality

UniGene provides a comprehensive view of the transcriptome by clustering mRNA sequences from GenBank, dbEST, and RefSeq into unique gene clusters. Each cluster is assigned a unique identifier and includes sequences from different sources that are believed to represent the same gene. This allows researchers to study gene expression patterns across different tissues and developmental stages.

Applications

UniGene is widely used in bioinformatics and genomics research. It helps in identifying novel genes, studying gene expression, and understanding the genetic basis of diseases. Researchers use UniGene to find expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that are associated with specific genes, which can be useful in gene discovery and functional genomics.

Related pages

• GenBank
• Expressed sequence tag
• National Center for Biotechnology Information
• Gene expression

References

• Schuler, G. D. (1997). "Pieces of the puzzle: Expressed sequence tags and the catalog of human genes." Science, 274(5287), 540-546.
• Wheeler, D. L., et al. (2000). "Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology Information." Nucleic Acids Research, 28(1), 10-14.