Alenin V.V., Guetsova M.L., Samsonova M.G., Serov V.N., Yudenitch L.S.
Institute of High-Performance Computing and Data Bases, 194291, St.Petersburg, P.O.Box 71, Russia; Fax: (812)2518314; E-mail: alenin@fn.csa.ru
Rapid progress in molecular biology especially in sequencing of model organism genomes leads to accumulation of large amount of information about genes and proteins involved in the transduction of the stress signal in the cell. Besides that there is a great amount of data on physiology of stress at different levels of living organism organisation. The unification of these data in SSE database will enable the user to obtain comprehensive information about stress ranging from molecular level to the level of the whole organism.
We designed the SSE database which contains the information about stressors, signalling pathways and molecular mechanisms of the cell response to stress in eukaryotes.
SSE is a hypertext data base. The information contained is structured on the basis of comparative evolutionary approach. Different database sections are devoted to molecular mechanisms of stress in yeasts, protozoa, plants, animals. Each of these sections contains data on molecular mechanisms of different types of stress in the organism under consideration. This information is presented in the form of the diagrams of signalling and metabolic pathways, gene and protein sequences, chemical structures and physical and chemical properties of stressors, targets and mechanisms of stressors action, as well as references.
There are two entry points into SSE which enable the user to browse and to search the database. While browsing the database the user sequentially moves from the page containing the list of organisms to the next page displaying the stress types deciphered in a given organism. Each stress type is linked to the general description of mechanism of stress, the diagram and the text description of signalling pathway, to the list of stressors, as well as to data on targets and mechanisms of stressor action.
This information will be of great importance for solution of fundamental biological problems, as well as for development of efficient therapies for diseases caused by stress and for design of new drugs.
SSE database is located on site: http://www.csa.ru/Inst/gorb_dep/inbios/SSE/sse.htm