Introduction to WormBase
WormBase.org is a repository for bioinformatics data related to C. elegans and related nematodes. In this tutorial, we will be exploring some of the main features of the WormBase website. WormBase, like all of the genome databases we discuss, is used routinely by researchers who work on C. elegans, and updates to it are posted frequently. The overall look and links of the database do not change with each update, but the underlying information is constantly being reviewed and revised.
For this tutorial we will be looking up information on the daf-7 gene, a gene that is used for many examples in the book. Similar exercises can be done for thousands of other genes, most with less information than is available for daf-7. We suggest that you work through this tutorial to find information on daf-7 and then try a few more examples on your own. WormBase also maintains helpful tutorials of its own, found as a user's guide and an FAQ on the home page.
A quick note of nomenclature will be helpful before we begin. Nomenclatures and gene names are often the single biggest obstacle for students and new users of the genome databases, and the rules are not always simple. As a brief guide that will be expanded below, a gene that has been identified by a mutant phenotype is denoted daf-7. The protein encoded by that gene is denoted DAF-7. The mutant phenotype arising from the gene is written Daf or Daf-7, although other descriptions can also be used.
