YY1TargetDB: an integral information resource for Yin Yang 1 target loci

Yin Yang 1 (YY1), a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor, plays a critical role in regulating cell development, differentiation, cellular proliferation and tumorigenesis. Previous studies identified many YY1-regulated target genes in both human and mouse. Emerging global mapping by Chromatin ImmnoPrecipitation (ChIP)-based high-throughput experiments indicate that YY1 binds to a vast number of loci genome-wide. However, the information is widely scattered in many disparate poorly cross-indexed literatures; a large portion was only published recently by the ENCODE consortium with limited annotation. A centralized database, which annotates and organizes YY1-binding loci and target motifs in a systematic way with easy access, will be valuable resources for the research community. We therefore implemented a web-based YY1 Target loci Database (YY1TargetDB). This database contains YY1-binding loci (binding peaks) from ChIP-seq and ChIP-on-chip experiments, computationally predicated YY1 and cofactor motifs within each locus. It also collects the experimentally verified YY1-binding motifs from individual researchers. The current version of YY1TargetDB contains 92 314 binding loci identified by ChIP-based experiments; 157 200 YY1-binding motifs in which 42 are experimentally verified and 157 158 are computationally predicted; and 130 759 binding motifs for 47 cofactors. Database URL: http://www.myogenesisdb.org/YY1TargetDB.