The ENCODE project, for which the UCSC Genome Browser is the Data Coordination Center [29 (link)], presents a large number of functional annotations: including DNAse hypersensitivity sites, indicating open chromatin; histone marks, implicated in gene regulation; and gene expression levels from whole-genome RNA-seq experiments. These data, which are available on the human and mouse assemblies hg19 and mm9, are mapped across multiple cell lines. The resulting tracks represent tissue specificity and developmental mileposts (e.g. embryonic stem cells) for these elements. They can be displayed along with any other tracks on the same assembly, such as GenBank mRNAs or multispecies conservation.
A complete list of tracks available for any assembly can be found by visiting the Gateway page for any genome assembly (
Examples of data tracks that do undergo further processing or filtering at UCSC include dbSNP [30 (link)] and OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) [31 (link)]. In these tracks, data from the providers are subdivided into categories to make them more useful to our users. For example, dbSNP data are presented in their entirety in one track, but three other tracks offer subsets: Common Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (those with minor allele frequency >1%), Flagged SNPs (those identified in dbSNP as ‘clinical’—may be associated with disease, but use with caution!) and Multiple SNPs (those mapping to more than one genomic location).
Similarly, the OMIM data set has been filtered by UCSC to create three separate tracks, including one track of Allelic Variant SNPs that have phenotypic associations annotated by OMIM. These filtered sets are transmitted to OMIM for redistribution to their licensees. As always, details of how the filtering was done are available by clicking into an item or via the track configuration page.
Users may read about the filtering options available when using tracks by clicking on the small button to the left of the track in the Genome Browser image, or on the label in the track control area below the image. This configuration page gives users an opportunity to set colors and filters to suit themselves.
For users who do not know exactly which data set contains the information they seek, each data track is accompanied by a description outlining the rationale for the production of the data, implementation details, interpretation guidelines and references to the literature. All of this information is indexed and may be searched by keyword via the Track Search button beneath the Browser graphic. The result is a list of all tracks that have the search term in the documentation and a link to the track description.