Review of:   TRRD 4x Transcriptional Regulation Region Database

URL:     http://wwwmgs.bionet.nsc.ru/mgs/dbases/trrd4/

Date reviewed: all databanks and programs have been reviewed  04-27-02

Description: Collection of information on structural and functional organization of transcriptional regulatory regions of eukaryotic genes.  Information available about transcription factor binding sites, eukaryotic promoter and enhancer sequences, transcriptional regulatory regions, gene expression regulatory regions, and references.  Links available for each database to each other database.  Connected to Lion Bioscience Group.  Various user levels available, one can build own library of session results.  the database is very extensive.

Strengths: Definitely the extensiveness of the site, user defined searches and analysis,

Weaknesses: No real tutorial for new users, the search advances and the user does not really know what the result means for his sequence, way too slow!!

Comprehensiveness: Great; very extensive search program with links to databases that can take your analysis further, I definitely did not get into most of the available analysis tools - because it is too slow

Timeliness: Too slow - big disadvantage

Ease of Use: Moderate, one has to work through to see where the analysis goes, but then it takes too long to switch sites

Responsiveness: Not there for 50% of searches, the user waits for the output of the sequence analysis - but it is not able to be displayed, so one has to perform the search again

Similar or Related Sites: TRANSFAC, COMPEL, Biomas at NIH

Overall Evaluation: *** (3 stars)

Reviewer: Inka Pawlitzky (inka.pawlitzky@tufts.edu)