Table 2 Feature comparison of the UCSC Genome Browser, Ensembl Genome Browser and NCBI MapViewer.
| Â | UCSC | Ensembl | NCBI |
|---|---|---|---|
Presentation | Genome in horizontal orientation Main page contains a single graphic displaying annotation ('tracks') Clicking on annotation element presents web page of detailed information and links to other resources | Genome in horizontal orientation Main ContigView page contains three graphics displaying annotations at different resolutions Clicking on annotation element presents box with links to other resources or Views with more detailed information | Genome in vertical orientation Annotations graphically presented in columns ('maps') Clicking on annotation elements or links in columns provides quick access to other, primarily NCBI, resources |
Content | 13 vertebrate, 15 invertebrate Many cross-species annotations including conservation across eight species ENCODE Project annotations | 13 vertebrate, six invertebrate Heavy focus on gene annotations such as Ensembl genes and VEGA HapMap project-related Views | 11 vertebrate, five invertebrate, one protozoan, 12 plant, eight fungi Annotations primarily from NCBI resources |
Functionality | Text search, BLAT sequence search, isPCR primer search Advanced annotation extraction using Table Browser Ability to upload and view own annotations | Text search, BLAST and SSAHA sequence search, e-PCR primer search Advanced annotation extraction using BioMart Ability to upload and view own annotations Simultaneous view of syntenic regions | Text search, BLAST sequence search, e-PCR primer search Basic annotation extraction |