Database system employing protein function hierarchies for viewing biomolecular sequence data

Patent 6023659 Issued on February 8, 2000. Estimated Expiration Date:

March 6, 2017. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Knowledge-based molecular retrieval system and method using a hierarchy of molecular structures in the knowledge base
Patent #: 5418944
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Inventors

Application

No. 812290 filed on 03/06/1997

US Classes:

702/19, Biological or biochemical702/20, Gene sequence determination702/31Specific operation control system

Examiners

Primary: Kemper, Melanie A.

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Beyer & Weaver, LLP

International Class

G06F 007/08

Abstract

Disclosed is a relational database system for storing biomolecular sequence information in a manner that allows sequences to be catalogued and searched according to one or more protein function hierarchies. The hierarchies allow searches for sequences based upon a protein's biological function or molecular function. Also disclosed is a mechanism for automatically grouping new sequences into protein function hierarchies. This mechanism uses descriptive information obtained from "external hits" which are matches of stored sequences against gene sequences stored in an external database such as GenBank. The descriptive information provided with the external database is evaluated according to a specific algorithm and used to automatically group the external hits (or the sequences associated with the hits) in the categories. Ultimately, the biomolecular sequences stored in databases of this invention are provided with both descriptive information from the external hit and category information from a relevant hierarchy or hierarchies.

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