Database of Operons in Bacillus subtilis

The operon, a unit of transcription in prokaryotes, comprises a part of the complicated gene regulatory networks. Thus, the prediction of operons has been carried out at several laboratories [1, 2, 4]. However, for validation of the prediction method, a database of known operons is required with additional information about actual transcriptional units and the conditions when they are transcribed. In Escherichia coli, the RegulonDB [2] have been developed, which integrates biological knowledge on operons, regulons, promoters, terminators and so on [3], enabling researches to validate prediction operons. In contrast, an operon database of B. subtilis has not been developed. Hence, we have initiated organizing the information about operons and transcriptional units in literature and also in experiments.