MCBI have a curated set of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) reference sequences (targeted loci) with verifiable organism sources and current names. This set is critical for correctly identifying and classifying prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea) and fungal samples. To provide easy access to these sequences, we recently added a separate rRNA/ITS databases section on the nucleotide BLAST page for these targeted sequences that makes it convenient to quickly identify source organisms. The new databases are:
*16S ribosomal RNA (Bacteria and Archaea)
*18S ribosomal RNA sequences (SSU) from Fungi type and reference material
*28S ribosomal RNA sequences (LSU) from Fungi type and reference material
*Internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) from Fungi type and reference material
You can also download these from the BLAST db FTP area. See the NCBI Insights post for more detail.
Useful links
-----------------
BLAST form with rRNA/ITS databases
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact blast-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
