dEMBF v2.0: An Updated Database of Enzymes for Microalgal Biofuel Feedstock

Plant Cell Physiol. 2020 May 1;61(5):1019-1024. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcaa015.

Abstract

In light of increasing algal genomics data and knowledge of biosynthetic pathways responsible for biofuel production, an integrated resource for easy access to all information is essential to improve our understanding of algal lipid metabolism. Against this backdrop, dEMBF v2.0, a significantly updated and improved version of our database of microalgae lipid biosynthetic enzymes for biofuel production, has been developed. dEMBF v2.0 now contains a comprehensive annotation of 2018 sequences encoding 35 enzymes, an increase of over 7-fold as compared with the first version. Other improved features include an increase in species coverage to 32 algal genomes, analysis of additional metabolic pathways, expanded annotation thoroughly detailing sequence and structural features, including enzyme-ligand interactions, and integration of supporting experimental evidence to demonstrate the role of enzymes in increasing lipid content. Along with a complete redesign of the interface, the updated database provides several inbuilt tools and user-friendly functionalities for more interactive and dynamic visualization of data.

Keywords: Biofuel; Bioinformatics; Database; Lipid enzymes; Metabolic pathway; Microalgae.

MeSH terms

  • Biofuels / microbiology*
  • Biomass*
  • Databases, Factual*
  • Enzymes / metabolism*
  • Internet
  • Microalgae / enzymology*
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • User-Computer Interface

Substances

  • Biofuels
  • Enzymes