PhEVER: A database for the global exploration of virus-host evolutionary relationships

Abstract

Fast viral adaptation and the implication of this rapid evolution in the emergence of several new infectious diseases have turned this issue into a major challenge for various research domains. Indeed, viruses are involved in the development of a wide range of pathologies and understanding how viruses and host cells interact in the context of adaptation remains an open question. In order to provide insights into the complex interactions between viruses and their host organisms and namely in the acquisition of novel functions through exchanges of genetic material, we developed the PhEVER database. This database aims at providing accurate evolutionary and phylogenetic information to analyse the nature of virus-virus and virus-host lateral gene transfers. PhEVER (http:// pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/databases/phever) is a unique database of homologous families both (i) between sequences from different viruses and (ii) between viral sequences and sequences from cellular organisms. PhEVER integrates extensive data from up-to-date completely sequenced genomes (2426 non-redundant viral genomes, 1007 non-redundant prokaryotic genomes, 43 eukaryotic genomes ranging from plants to vertebrates) and offers a clustering of proteins into homologous families containing at least one viral sequences, as well as alignments and phylogenies for each of these families. Public access to PhEVER is available through its webpage and through all dedicated ACNUC retrieval systems. © The Author(s) 2010.