/gene-database

name: "gene-database"
description: "NCBI Gene via E-utilities: curated records across 1M+ taxa. Official symbols, aliases, RefSeq IDs, summaries, coordinates, GO, interactions. Use for gene ID resolution and cross-species function queries. For sequences use Ensembl; for expression use geo-database."
license: "CC0-1.0"

NCBI Gene Database

Overview

NCBI Gene is the authoritative curated database for gene-centric information, covering 1M+ genes across hundreds of thousands of taxa. Each gene record includes the official symbol, aliases, full name, functional summary, genomic coordinates (GRCh38/GRCh37), RefSeq accessions, GO annotations, interaction partners, and links to related databases. Access is free via E-utilities REST API (no API key required, though recommended).

When to Use

• Resolving gene aliases and synonyms to the current official HGNC/NCBI symbol
• Fetching the NCBI Gene ID (integer) for a gene symbol for downstream API calls (e.g., dbSNP, ClinVar, GEO)
• Retrieving curated gene summaries and function descriptions programmatically
• Pulling RefSeq mRNA (NM_) and protein (NP_) accessions associated with a gene
• Querying GO functional annotations (Biological Process, Molecular Function, Cellular Component)
• Finding orthologs across species via the NCBI Datasets v2 orthologs endpoint (legacy E-utilities `gene_gene_homolog` retired with HomoloGene in 2019)
• For expression profiles across conditions use `geo-database`; for variant annotations use `clinvar-database` or `ensembl-database`

Prerequisites

• **Python packages**: `requests`, `xml.etree.ElementTree` (stdlib), `pandas` (optional)
• **Data requirements**: gene symbols, NCBI Gene IDs, or tax IDs
• **Environment**: internet connection; NCBI email required (set `email` parameter)
• **Rate limits**: 3 req/s unauthenticated; 10 req/s with free NCBI API key

pip install requests pandas

Quick Start

import requests

EMAIL = "your@email.com"
BASE = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"

def gene_search(query, retmax=5):
    r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/esearch.fcgi",
                     params={"db": "gene", "term": query,
                             "retmax": retmax, "retmode": "json", "email": EMAIL})
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]

# Find human BRCA1 gene ID
ids = gene_search("BRCA1[sym] AND Homo sapiens[orgn]")
print(f"Gene IDs for BRCA1: {ids}")  # → ['672']

Core API

Query 1: Search by Symbol, Name, or Function

Use ESearch with field tags for precise queries.

import requests

EMAIL = "your@email.com"
BASE = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"

# Exact symbol match for human gene
r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/esearch.fcgi",
                 params={"db": "gene", "email": EMAIL, "retmode": "json",
                         "term": "TP53[sym] AND Homo sapiens[orgn] AND alive[prop]"})
ids = r.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]
print(f"TP53 Gene ID: {ids}")  # → ['7157']

# Search by function keyword
r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/esearch.fcgi",
                 params={"db": "gene", "email": EMAIL, "retmode": "json",
                         "term": "CRISPR[title] AND Homo sapiens[orgn]", "retmax": 5})
ids = r.json()["esearchresult"]["idlist"]
print(f"CRISPR-related gene IDs: {ids}")

Query 2: Fetch Gene Summary (JSON/ESummary)

Retrieve key metadata fields for a list of Gene IDs.

import requests

EMAIL = "your@email.com"
BASE = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"

def esummary_gene(gene_ids):
    r = requests.post(f"{BASE}/esummary.fcgi",
                      data={"db": "gene", "id": ",".join(gene_ids),
                            "retmode": "json", "email": EMAIL})
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.json()["result"]

result = esummary_gene(["672", "675", "7157"])  # BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53

for uid in result.get("uids", []):
    g = result[uid]
    print(f"\n{g.get('name')} (ID {uid})")
    print(f"  Official symbol : {g.get('nomenclaturesymbol', g.get('name'))}")
    print(f"  Chr location    : {g.get('maplocation')}")
    print(f"  Summary (first 100): {g.get('summary', '')[:100]}...")
    print(f"  Aliases: {g.get('otheraliases', 'none')}")

Query 3: Fetch Full Gene Record (XML)

Retrieve the complete gene record in XML for RefSeq accessions, GO terms, and interaction data.

import requests
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

EMAIL = "your@email.com"
BASE = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"

def efetch_gene_xml(gene_id):
    r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/efetch.fcgi",
                     params={"db": "gene", "id": gene_id,
                             "rettype": "gene_table", "retmode": "text", "email": EMAIL})
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.text

# Get gene table (tab-delimited overview)
table = efetch_gene_xml("672")
print(table[:500])

# XML for RefSeq accession extraction
r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/efetch.fcgi",
                 params={"db": "gene", "id": "672",
                         "rettype": "xml", "retmode": "xml", "email": EMAIL})
root = ET.fromstring(r.text)

# Extract RefSeq mRNA accessions
for ref in root.iter("Gene-commentary"):
    acc = ref.find("Gene-commentary_accession")
    ver = ref.find("Gene-commentary_version")
    typ = ref.find("Gene-commentary_type")
    if acc is not None and acc.text and acc.text.startswith("NM_"):
        print(f"RefSeq mRNA: {acc.text}.{ver.text if ver is not None else ''}")

Query 4: Batch Symbol-to-ID Mapping

Map a list of gene symbols to NCBI Gene IDs efficiently.

import requests, time

EMAIL = "your@email.com"
BASE = "https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils"

def symbols_to_ids(symbols, organism="Homo sapiens"):
    """Map gene symbols to NCBI Gene IDs. Returns dict {symbol: gene_id}."""
    mapping = {}
    for sym in symbols:
        r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/esearch.fcgi",
                         params={"db": "gene", "em