[Bioperl-l] [BioSQL-l] BioSQL : GenBank db_xref names in dbxref table

[Chris Fields]

I think SeqIO checks the name for parsing reasons only, in cases  
where the format changes based on the source (such as GenPept  
DBSOURCE data).  I don't think we go beyond that in Bioperl, probably  
b/c modifying or expanding names for data persistence would lead to  
volatile coding issues (i.e. consistency between parsers, constant  
updating to cover new crossrefs, etc).

I would definitely suggest retaining the original DB as it appears in  
the dbxref for consistency/sanity; if needed return expanded names  
using a different method if they are designated.

chris

On Nov 22, 2007, at 10:37 AM, Mauricio Herrera Cuadra wrote:

> Hi Peter,
>
> In BioPerl, there's no such mapping for db_xref's that I'm aware of.
> Each parser handles db_xref records on its own. Take a look at the
> Bio::SeqIO::genbank code, inside the next_seq() method for example:
>
> http://code.open-bio.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/viewcvs.cgi/bioperl-live/ 
> Bio/SeqIO/genbank.pm?rev=HEAD&content-type=text/vnd.viewcvs-markup
>
> Regards,
> Mauricio.
>
> Peter wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I'm one of the Biopython developers.  I've recently got going with
>> BioSQL and have been getting to grips with the Biopython BioSQL
>> interface.  I'm aware that we need to try and be consistent with
>> BioPerl and BioJava, so I'd like to pose my first question related to
>> that.
>>
>> When loading GenBank records, many features have db_xref qualifiers,
>> e.g. from a random CDS feature in E. coli K12:
>>
>>                      /db_xref="ASAP:1309"
>>                      /db_xref="GI:16128366"
>>                      /db_xref="ECOCYC:EG10213"
>>                      /db_xref="GeneID:945313"
>>
>> Bioython attempts to translate the strings "ASAP", "GI", "ECOCYC",
>> "GeneID" before using recording these entries in the  
>> seqfeature_dbxref
>> and dbxref tables.  For example, "GI" becomes "GeneIndex".
>> Biopython's current mapping is as follows:
>>
>> # Dictionary of database types, keyed by GenBank db_xref abbreviation
>> db_dict = {'GeneID': 'Entrez',
>>            'GI': 'GeneIndex',
>>            'COG': 'COG',
>>            'CDD': 'CDD',
>>            'DDBJ': 'DNA Databank of Japan',
>>            'Entrez': 'Entrez',
>>            'GeneIndex': 'GeneIndex',
>>            'PUBMED': 'PubMed',
>>            'taxon': 'Taxon',
>>            'ATCC': 'ATCC',
>>            'ISFinder': 'ISFinder',
>>            'GOA': 'Gene Ontology Annotation',
>>            'ASAP': 'ASAP',
>>            'PSEUDO': 'PSEUDO',
>>            'InterPro': 'InterPro',
>>            'GEO': 'Gene Expression Omnibus',
>>            'EMBL': 'EMBL',
>>            'UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot': 'UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot',
>>            'ECOCYC': 'EcoCyc',
>>            'UniProtKB/TrEMBL': 'UniProtKB/TrEMBL'
>>            }
>>
>> In my testing, I've found several GenBank db_xref abbreviation for
>> which we don't have a mapping defined, such as "LocusID", "dbSNP",
>> "MGD", "MIM", or from an EMBL file, "REMTREMBL".
>>
>> I'd like to know if BioPerl and/or BioJava and/or BioRuby define a
>> similar mapping in their BioSQL code (or GenBank parser), so that
>> Biopython can follow your example.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> P.S. See also Biopython bug 2405
>> http://bugzilla.open-bio.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2405
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>
> -- 
> MAURICIO HERRERA CUADRA
> arareko at campus.iztacala.unam.mx
> Laboratorio de Genética
> Unidad de Morfofisiología y Función
> Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM
>
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Christopher Fields
Postdoctoral Researcher
Lab of Dr. Robert Switzer
Dept of Biochemistry
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign