MultitaskProtDB: a database of multitasking proteins

We have compiled MultitaskProtDB, available online at http://wallace.uab.es/multitask, to provide a repository where the many multitasking proteins found in the literature can be stored. Multitasking or moonlighting is the capability of some proteins to execute two or more biological functions. Usually, multitasking proteins are experimentally revealed by serendipity. This ability of proteins to perform multitasking functions helps us to understand one of the ways used by cells to perform many complex functions with a limited number of genes. Even so, the study of this phenomenon is complex because, among other things, there is no database of moonlighting proteins. The existence of such a tool facilitates the collection and dissemination of these important data. This work reports the database, MultitaskProtDB, which is designed as a friendly user web page containing >288 multitasking proteins with their NCBI and UniProt accession numbers, canonical and additional biological functions, monomeric/oligomeric states, PDB codes when available and bibliographic references. This database also serves to gain insight into some characteristics of multitasking proteins such as frequencies of the different pairs of functions, phylogenetic conservation and so forth.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología de Espanya [BIO2007-67904-C02-01, BFU2010-22209-C02-01]; Centre de Referència de R+D de Biotecnologia de la Generalitat de Catalunya; La Marató de TV3 [101930/31/32/33]; Comisión Coordinadora del Interior de Uruguay. The English of this manuscript has been corrected by Ms Lynn Strother. Funding for open access charge: [BIO2007-67904-C02-01 and BFU2010-22209-C02-01]