Curation of viral genomes: challenges, applications and the way forward

Background: Whole genome sequence data is a step towards generating the 'parts list' of life to understand the underlying principles of Biocomplexity. Genome sequencing initiatives of human and model organisms are targeted efforts towards understanding principles of evolution with an application envisaged to improve human health. These efforts culminated in the development of dedicated resources. Whereas a large number of viral genomes have been sequenced by groups or individuals with an interest to study antigenic variation amongst strains and species. These independent efforts enabled viruses to attain the status of 'best-represented taxa' with the highest number of genomes. However, due to lack of concerted efforts, viral genomic sequences merely remained as entries in the public repositories until recently. Results: VirGen is a curated resource of viral genomes and their analyses. Since its first release, it has grown both in terms of coverage of viral families...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Urmila Kulkarni-Kale, Shriram Bhosle, G. Sunitha Manjari, Manali Joshi, Sandeep Bansode, Ashok S. Kolaskar
• Keywords: BMCBI 2006, Genome, Viral Genomes, VirGen