IdBean: A java GUI application for conversion of biological identifiers

Abstract

We have developed a biologist-friendly, stand-alone Java GUI application, IdBean, for ID conversion. Our tool integrated most of the widely used ID conversion services that provide programmatic access. It is the first GUI ID conversion application that supports the direct merging as well as comparison of conversion results from multiple ID conversion services without manual effort. This tool will greatly help biologists who handle multiple ID types for the analyses of gene or gene product lists. By referring to multiple conversion services, the number of failed IDs can be reduced. By accessing ID conversion service online, it will potentially provide the most up-to-date conversion results. The application was developed in modular form; however, it can be re-packaged into plug-in form. For the development of a bioinformatics analysis tool, the module can be used as a built-in ID conversion component. It is available at http://neon.gachon.ac.kr/IdBean/.