TnCentral: a Prokaryotic Transposable Element Database

TnCentral is a Web-resource for prokaryotic transposons, their passenger genes, and their host organisms. It provides a variety of Search functions, BLAST functions for TnCentral and other related databases and a summary page with detailed annotation and a descriptive graphic for each transposon. It also makes available stand-alone scripts for identifying different transposons in genomic sequence data.

TnCentral is a database of annotated prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal) transposons (Tn) of different types retrieved from a variety of sources (literature, Genbank).

TnCentral has also been supplemented by in-house software permitting database mining of Tn3 family and Compound Tn. Additional transposon groups will be added over time.

The database can be searched for individual Tn, and their derivatives such as MICs and MITES or Tn groups, passenger genes such as antibiotic (AbR) or heavy metal resistance, bacterial host, geographical location and date of isolation.

There is a Blast facility which allows comparison of users submitted DNA sequences with Tn in TnCentral. The developers wish to acknowledge useful discussions with members of the ISfinder team (P. Siguier, E. Gourbeyre, J. Perochon).

The TnCentral banner is modified from L. Lavatine, S He, A Caumont-Sarcos, C Guynet, B Marty, M Chandler and B Ton-Hoang (2016) Single strand transposition at the host replication fork NAR doi: 10.1093/nar/gkw661.

We also acknowledge the contributions of O. Barabas, A. Hickman, F. Dyda , and D. Lane and of previous members of the ex-Chandler lab in Toulouse: A. Achard, M. Betermier, A. Caumont-Sarcos, A. Corneloup, G. Duval-Valentin, JM. Escoubas, P. Gamas, E. Guegen, C. Guynet, L. Haren, S. He, L. Lavatine, C. Loot, B. Marty, C. Normand, P. Rousseau, N. Pouget, B. Ton Hoang, C. Turlan, AM. Varani, D. Zerbib.

The TnCentral version 2 was developed by Francislon Silva de Oliveira.

This project was funded in part by CNPq, grant number 440230/2022-5, within the Call CNPq/MCTI/CT-Biotec number 30/2022.