Guidelines for changing systematic sequence
- The complete sequence of S. cerevisiae is that of strain S288C. Therefore, the first step is to be sure that you have sequenced that strain. Data on other strains are interesting to remember as notes but cannot result in changing the systematic sequence edition in the yeast databases. If the strain you sequenced is different from S288C, you can submit your piece of sequence to Genbank/EMBL/DDBJ with a clear indication of your strain. Your sequence will then be linked to the locus in SGD although it will not be the systematic sequence stored in the database. It is only by strictly following this principle that we can distinguish sequence errors that need to be corrected from natural polymorphisms that should not be inserted in the sequence.
- Although nucleotide omission is the most frequent type of sequencing error, it is not because the protein reported by an author is longer than the predicted one that it is correct. There are several cases of real in-frame stop codons verified by direct sequencing of the DNA of S288C (B. Dujon, personal communication). Therefore, the second step is to provide the experimental demonstration that the sequence change you propose is real. Sequencing a PCR reaction amplified on S288C DNA and covering the region of interest is the best method.
- After steps 1 and 2 are finished, please contact SGD and MIPS with details about the proposed change.