aCHEdb: the database system for ESTHER, the alpha/beta fold family of proteins and the Cholinesterase gene server

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Abstract
Acetylcholinesterase belongs to a family of proteins, the α/β hydrolase fold family, whose constituents evolutionarily diverged from a common ancestor and share a similar structure of a central β sheet surrounded by α helices. These proteins fulfil a wide range of physiological functions (hydrolases, adhesion molecules, hormone precursors) [Krejci,E., Duval,N., Chatonnet,A., Vincens,P. and Massoulié,J. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA , 88, 6647–6651]. ESTHER (for est erases, α/β h ydrolase e nzymes and r elatives) is a database aimed at collecting in one information system, sequence data together with biological annotations and experimental biochemical results related to the structure-function analysis of the enzymes of the family. The major upgrade of the database comes from the use of a new database management system: aCHEdb which uses the ACeDB progam designed by Richard Durbin and Jean Thierry-Mieg. It can be found at http://www.ensam.inra.fr/cholinesterase