The protein databases contain an exponentially growing number of sequences as a result of the recent increase in ease and decrease in cost of genome sequencing. The rate of data accumulation far exceeds the rate of functional studies, producing an increase in genomic 'dark matter', sequences for which no precise and validated function is defined. Publicly accessible, that is 'democratized,' genomic enzymology web tools are essential to leverage the protein and genome databases for discovery of the in vitro activities and in vivo functions of novel enzymes and proteins belonging to the dark matter. In this review, we discuss the use of web tools that have proven successful for functional assignment. We also describe a mechanism for ensuring the capture of published functional data so that the quality of both curated and automated annotations transfer can be improved.

中文翻译：

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用于功能分配的“民主化”基因组酶学网络工具。

由于最近基因组测序的简便性和成本降低，蛋白质数据库包含的序列数量呈指数增长。数据积累的速度远远超过功能研究的速度，从而导致基因组“暗物质”的增加，而“暗物质”的序列尚未定义出精确且经过验证的功能。基因组酶学网络工具可公开获取，即“民主化”，对于利用蛋白质和基因组数据库来发现属于暗物质的新型酶和蛋白质的体外活性和体内功能至关重要。在这篇评论中，我们讨论了已经证明可以成功完成功能分配的网络工具的使用。