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Updated: May 27, 2026
09:37
An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis
Published on: July 12, 2022
The Pfam protein families database
Marco Punta1, Penny C Coggill, Ruth Y Eberhardt
1Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK. mp13@sanger.ac.uk
Nucleic Acids Research
|December 1, 2011
Summary
The Pfam database has added 1840 new protein families, increasing coverage of the UniProt Knowledgebase to 80%. It now collaborates with Wikipedia for improved annotation and introduces new visualizations and features for protein family analysis.
Area of Science:
- Bioinformatics
- Structural Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Pfam is a comprehensive database of protein families, essential for understanding protein function and evolution.
- The previous release (24.0) was detailed in a 2010 publication, necessitating an update on recent advancements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on the updates and new features of the Pfam database since its 2010 release.
- To highlight the expansion of protein family coverage and the integration with external resources like Wikipedia.
- To provide insights into specific Pfam features, including gathering thresholds and domains of unknown function.
Main Methods:
- Manual curation of protein families.
- Integration of Pfam data with the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB).
- Development of new website features and data visualizations.
- Collaboration with the Wikipedia community for annotation enhancement.
Main Results:
- Addition of 1840 new protein families, bringing the total to over 13,000.
- Increased Pfam coverage of UniProtKB to nearly 80%.
- Successful integration of Pfam families with Wikipedia pages, fostering community-driven annotation.
- Introduction of new visualizations like the 'sunburst' plot for taxonomic distribution.
Conclusions:
- Pfam continues to be a vital resource, significantly expanding its protein family collection and knowledgebase coverage.
- Community engagement through Wikipedia enhances the accuracy and depth of protein family annotations.
- New features and visualizations improve the usability and analytical capabilities of the Pfam database for researchers.
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