Dear Ciliate Researchers,

Two exciting new features are now available from TGD: we can now show
references for most information on the gene pages, and paragraph-long
gene summaries can also be displayed.  For an example of these new
features, see the gene page for PDD1:

   http://db.ciliate.org/cgi-bin/locus.pl?locus=PDD1

Now that we have the ability to better present the information, the TGD
curators would like to ask the Tetrahymena research community to review
and contribute to the information in our database.  We welcome your
comments on any gene.  A list of genes at TGD, with links to each
specific page, can be found at:

   http://www.ciliate.org/geneindex.shtml

When reviewing gene pages, please consider the following:
1. Name Descriptions.  Most of these were found in the literature,
though we are still missing some (as you can see on the Gene Index page
above).  If you know the origin and reference (a PubmedID is easiest)
for a particular gene name, please let us know and we will add it to
the database.
2. Aliases.  If you know a gene or protein has been referred to by some
other name in the literature (for example, Pdd1p was originally called
"p65" before the gene was cloned), we would appreciate that
information, and an appropriate reference if possible.
3. Literature Guide.  A link to "Additional References and Literature
Guide" is found in the Literature Curation section of the gene page.
Some papers about a gene, especially newer papers, may be missing from
this list - please let us know if we should add a reference.  Also let
us know if papers have been inappropriately linked to genes.

Finally, TGD curators have so far written summary paragraphs for only a
small number of genes (see THD1 for an example). Effective summaries of
the understanding of experimental results is likely best stated by the
original authors.  Thus we ask the community to help us.  Summaries can
be as long or as brief as you wish, and they can be shared among the
genes of a family.  See the MYO1-MYO13 genes:

   http://db.ciliate.org/cgi-bin/locus.pl?locus=MYO*

We hope that many of you have some unpublished text that would be
perfect - from a personal website, or from the background section of a
grant.  We are happy to accept any text you would like to submit, and
we will of course credit you and any coauthors for your contributions.

Thank you for your help,
The Staff at TGD
www.ciliate.org