NESbase version 1.0: a database of nuclear export signals

Protein export from the nucleus is often mediated by a Leucine-rich Nuclear Export Signal (NES). NESbase is a database of experimentally validated Leucine-rich NESs curated from literature. These signals are not annotated in databases such as SWISS-PROT, PIR or PROSITE. Each NESbase entry contains information of whether NES was shown to be necessary and/or sufficient for export, and whether the export was shown to be mediated by the export receptor CRM1.

The compiled information was used to make a sequence logo of the Leucine-rich NESs, displaying the conservation of amino acids within a window of 25 residues. Surprisingly, only 36% of the sequences used for the logo fit the widely accepted NES consensus L-x( 2,3) -[ LIVFM] x( 2,3) - L-x-[ LI]. The database is available online at http: / / www. cbs. dtu. dk/ databases/ NESbase/.