KEGG

KEGG
Content
DescriptionBioinformatics resource for deciphering the genome
OrganismsAll
Contact
Research centerKyoto University
LaboratoryKanehisa Laboratories
Primary citationPMID 10592173
Release date1995
Access
Websitewww.kegg.jp
Web service URLREST see KEGG API
Tools
WebKEGG Mapper

KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) is a collection of databases dealing with genomes, biological pathways, diseases, drugs, and chemical substances. KEGG is utilized for bioinformatics research and education, including data analysis in genomics, metagenomics, metabolomics and other omics studies, modeling and simulation in systems biology, and translational research in drug development.

The KEGG database project was initiated in 1995 by Minoru Kanehisa, professor at the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, under the then ongoing Japanese Human Genome Program.[1][2] Foreseeing the need for a computerized resource that can be used for biological interpretation of genome sequence data, he started developing the KEGG PATHWAY database. It is a collection of manually drawn KEGG pathway maps representing experimental knowledge on metabolism and various other functions of the cell and the organism. Each pathway map contains a network of molecular interactions and reactions and is designed to link genes in the genome to gene products (mostly proteins) in the pathway. This has enabled the analysis called KEGG pathway mapping, whereby the gene content in the genome is compared with the KEGG PATHWAY database to examine which pathways and associated functions are likely to be encoded in the genome.

According to the developers, KEGG is a "computer representation" of the biological system.[3] It integrates building blocks and wiring diagrams of the system—more specifically, genetic building blocks of genes and proteins, chemical building blocks of small molecules and reactions, and wiring diagrams of molecular interaction and reaction networks. This concept is realized in the following databases of KEGG, which are categorized into systems, genomic, chemical, and health information.[4]

  1. ^ Kanehisa M, Goto S (2000). "KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes". Nucleic Acids Res. 28 (1): 27–30. doi:10.1093/nar/28.1.27. PMC 102409. PMID 10592173.
  2. ^ Kanehisa M (1997). "A database for post-genome analysis". Trends Genet. 13 (9): 375–6. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(97)01223-7. PMID 9287494.
  3. ^ Kanehisa M, Goto S, Hattori M, Aoki-Kinoshita KF, Itoh M, Kawashima S, Katayama T, Araki M, Hirakawa M (2006). "From genomics to chemical genomics: new developments in KEGG". Nucleic Acids Res. 34 (Database issue): D354–7. doi:10.1093/nar/gkj102. PMC 1347464. PMID 16381885.
  4. ^ Kanehisa M, Goto S, Sato Y, Kawashima M, Furumichi M, Tanabe M (2014). "Data, information, knowledge and principle: back to metabolism in KEGG". Nucleic Acids Res. 42 (Database issue): D199–205. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1076. PMC 3965122. PMID 24214961.