Ensembl Genomes

Ensembl Genomes is a scientific project to provide genome-scale data from non-vertebrate species. The project is run by the European Bioinformatics Institute, and was launched in 2009 using the Ensembl technology. The main objective of the Ensembl Genomes database is to complement the main Ensembl database by introducing five additional web pages to include genome data for bacteria, fungi, invertebrate metazoa, plants, and protists. For each of the domains, the Ensembl tools are available for manipulation, analysis and visualization of genome data. Most Ensembl Genomes data is stored in MySQL relational databases and can be accessed by the Ensembl Perl API, virtual machines or online.

Ensembl Genomes is an open project, and most of the code, tools, and data are available to the public. Ensembl and Ensembl Genomes software uses a "permissive Apache-style open-source" license, making it free for all users.

Displaying genomic data

The key feature of Ensembl Genomes is its graphical interface, which allows users to scroll through a genome and observe the relative location of features such as conceptual annotation (e.g. genes, SNP loci), sequence patterns (e.g. repeats) and experimental data (e.g. sequences and external sequence features mapped onto the genome). Graphical views are available for varying levels of resolution from an entire karyotype, down to the sequence of a single exon. Information for a genome is spread over four tabs, a species page, a ‘Location’ tab, a ‘Gene’ tab and a ‘Transcript’ tab, each providing information at a higher resolution.