The recent advances in genome sequencing have revealed an abundance of non-synonymous polymorphisms among human individuals; subsequently, it is of immense interest and importance to predict whether such substitutions are functional neutral or have deleterious effects. The accuracy of such prediction algorithms depends on the quality of the multiple-sequence alignment, which is used to infer how an amino acid substitution is tolerated at a given position. Because of the scarcity of orthologous protein sequences in the past, the existing prediction algorithms all include sequences of protein paralogs in the alignment, which can dilute the conservation signal and affect prediction accuracy. However, we believe that, with the sequencing of a large number of mammalian genomes, it is now feasible to include only protein orthologs in the alignment and improve the prediction performance.

No description available

No description available

No description available

No description available

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is considered a symbol of China and is a much loved animal all around the world. It is also one of the worlds most endangered species, making it a flagship species for conservation efforts. As the first fully sequenced Ursidae and the second fully sequenced carnivore after the dog, the whole genome sequence and annotation data provide an unparalleled amount of information to aid in understanding the genetic and biological underpinnings of this unique species, and will help contribute to disease control and conservation efforts.In 2008, BGI completed a first draft of the genome sequence of a three-year old female giant panda named Jingjing, who was used as a model for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China (doi: 10.1038/nature08696). Using second-generation Illumina GA sequencing data, the first de novo genome assembly was created using short-read sequencing technology. Here you will find the giant panda genome sequence assembly as well as annotation information, such as gene structure and function, non-coding RNAs, and repeat elements. Also presented are polymorphism information detected in the diploid genome, including SNPs, indels, and structural variations (SVs). The assembly was done using SOAPdenovo software and the panda genome data is visualized via MapView, which is powered by the Google Web Toolkit.