Dehalobase: A Database of Dehalogenase and other Allied Enzymes

Dehalogenase and other similar enzymes specifically from microbial origin are mostly responsible for bioremediation of halogenated organic compounds. The organo-halide compounds are regarded the largest group of chemical found in the environment that are mostly toxic and hazardous in nature. Recently, the molecular analysis of these enzymes has proven to be a valuable aid in understanding the molecular aspects of dehalogenation. Yet there is no specialised database available for these enzymes. In this work, we have built a specialised curated relational database with a search tool for dehalogenase and other allied enzymes. It contains in total 181 entries with a user-friendly menu-driven search engine that allows retrieval of stored information for each enzyme such as name, reaction mechanism, E.C number, structural information, if available, references and a hyperlink to a metabolic pathway database containing detailed catalytic mechanism. It also includes the toxic profile of the substrate that is catalysed by the enzymes. Furthermore, this database provides a search interface which permits the user to explore these specific enzymes. Presently, the database is freely available at: http://mcbi.mitsbiotech.org.in/dehalobase/