European Nucleotide Archive
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|---|---|
| Content | |
| Description | Comprehensive archive of nucleotide sequences, annotations and associated data. |
| Data types captured |
Nucleotide sequence, functional annotation, sequencing reads and sequencer information, sample details, other related records. |
| Organisms | All |
| Contact | |
| Research center | European Bioinformatics Institute |
| Laboratory | PANDA Group |
| Primary citation | PMID 20972220 |
| Release date | April 1982 |
| Access | |
| Data format |
XML FASTQ EMBL-Bank format |
| Website | ENA |
| Download URL | ENA download |
| Web service URL | ENA browser |
| Tools | |
| Standalone | CRAM toolkit |
| Miscellaneous | |
| License | Unrestricted |
The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) is a repository providing free and unrestricted access to annotated DNA and RNA sequences. It also stores complementary information such as experimental procedures, details of sequence assembly and other metadata related to sequencing projects. The archive is composed of three main databases: the Sequence Read Archive, the Trace Archive and the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (also known as EMBL-bank). The ENA is produced and maintained by the European Bioinformatics Institute and is a member of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) along with the DNA Data Bank of Japan and GenBank.
The ENA has grown out of the EMBL Data Library which was released in 1982 as the first internationally supported resource for nucleotide sequence data. As of early 2012, the ENA and other INSDC member databases each contained complete genomes of 5,682 organisms and sequence data for almost 700,000. Moreover, the volume of data is increasing exponentially with a doubling time of approximately 10 months.
The European Nucleotide Archive originated from separate databases, the earliest of which was the EMBL Data Library, established in October 1980 at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg. The first release of this database was made in April 1982 and contained a total of 568 separate entries consisting of around 500,000 base pairs. In 1984, referring to the EMBL Data Library, Kneale and Kennard remarked that "it was clear some years ago that a large computerized database of sequences would be essential for research in Molecular Biology".
Despite the primary distribution method at the time being via magnetic tape, by 1987, the EMBL Data Library was being used by an estimated 10,000 scientists internationally. The same year, the EMBL File Server was introduced to serve database records over BITNET, EARN and the early Internet. In May 1988 the journal Nucleic Acids Research introduced a policy stating that "manuscripts submitted to [Nucleic Acids Research] and containing or discussing sequence data must be accompanied by evidence that the data have been deposited with the EMBL Data Library."
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