Difference between revisions of "Help:Search"

Revision as of 18:04, 2 March 2009

How to search for a basic part

If you know the part number (e.g., BBa_J45001), simply type the unique characters after the underscore (J45001 in this case) into the "jump to part" search box under the Catalog icon on any Registry page. This immediately takes you to the Main Page for the part.
If you know the name of the part (e.g., autoinducer synthetase), type this into the "Text Search" box below. For autoinducer synthetase, at least seven hits will be displayed, from which you can select those of interest and click on their part numbers to go to the corresponding Main Pages. You may want to try a few variants of the part name, e.g., GFP; green fluorescent protein, etc.
If you know the type or category of the part you need, but not its exact name or part number, use the Part and device catalog. Click on the icon corresponding to the type of part or device that you need. This will take you to the catalog page for that part or device class with links to different sub-classes and tables for different part groups. Depending on the type of part, the tables provide various kinds of information, including a brief description and the total length of the part (in base pairs). Clicking on the part number in the table takes you directly to the Main Page for that part. Parts listed in these primary tables either have DNA available in the Registry or are very short and can be easily constructed from oligo's. Those that have a green "W" beside their entry have been shown to work in at least one system.

How to search for a composite part

The same methods described above in (1)-(3) can also be used to search for composite parts, devices and systems. Note however, that composite parts, devices and systems can have multiple basic parts associated with them. Thus, there are another way to search for them.

If you want a composite part that contains a particular basic part, such as cI repressor from phage lambda, you can enter the part number into the Superpart Search box. In the case of that BBa_C0051, the search returns more than 300 parts, of which more than 60 are available in the Registry!

How to find previously assembled parts that will aid in constructing a composite part

If you have a composite part that you wish to assemble, use the Subpart Search to find parts in the Registry that may save you time during assembly. Check out the Example to get an idea for the power of this type of search.

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 == How to search for a basic part ==
-'''(1)'''  If you know the '''''part number''''' (''e.g.'', BBa_J45001), simply type the unique characters after the underscore (J45001 in this case) into the '''"jump to part"''' search box under the Catalog icon on any Registry page.  This immediately takes you to the Main Page for the part.
+#If you know the '''part number''' (e.g., BBa_J45001), simply type the unique characters after the underscore (J45001 in this case) into the '''"jump to part"''' search box under the Catalog icon on any Registry page.  This immediately takes you to the Main Page for the part.
+#If you know the '''name of the part''' (e.g., autoinducer synthetase), type this into the '''"Text Search"''' box below.  For autoinducer synthetase, at least seven hits will be displayed, from which you can select those of interest and click on their part numbers to go to the corresponding Main Pages.  You may want to try a few variants of the part name, e.g., GFP; green fluorescent protein, etc.
-'''(2)'''  If you know the '''''name of the part''''' (''e.g.'', autoinducer synthetase), type this into the '''"Text Search"''' box below.  For autoinducer synthetase, at least seven hits will be displayed, from which you can select those of interest and click on their part numbers to go to the corresponding Main Pages.  You may want to try a few variants of the part name, ''e.g.,'' GFP; green fluorescent protein, etc.
+#If you know the '''type or category''' of the part you need, but not its exact name or part number, use the [[Catalog|'''Part and device catalog''']].  Click on the '''icon''' corresponding to the type of part or device that you need.  This will take you to the catalog page for that part or device class with links to different sub-classes and tables for different part groups.  Depending on the type of part, the tables provide various kinds of information, including a brief description and the total length of the part (in base pairs).  Clicking on the part number in the table takes you directly to the Main Page for that part.  Parts listed in these primary tables either have DNA available in the Registry or are very short and can be easily constructed from oligo's.  Those that have a green "W" beside their entry have been shown to work in at least one system.
-'''(3)'''  If you know the '''''broad category''''' of the part you need, but not its exact name or part number, use the icons on the [https://parts.igem.org/wiki/index.php/Part_Types '''"Browse Part Types"'''] page.  Note that there are six categories of "parts" on this page: Systems, Devices, Parts, Chassis, Vectors and Other.  ''Basic parts'' are under the heading '''Parts'''.  [Note that the term "part" has two usages, reflecting the hierarchical classification scheme used by the Registry.  In the broad definition, a "part" is a modular component of a synthetic-biology construct.  A '''basic part''' comprises an indivisible functional unit (such as a protein-coding sequence or a terminator sequence).  A '''composite part''' has multiple basic parts within it -- for example, [https://parts.igem.org/wiki/index.php/Part:BBa_I13521 BBa_I13521] has five components, each of which is a basic part.]
-Click on the '''icon''' corresponding to the type of basic part that you need.  This will take you to an intermediate page in some cases (such as "Protein Coding") with links to sub-categories.  Otherwise the link goes directly to a page with '''tables of the parts''' in that category.  Depending on the type of part, the tables provide various kinds of information, always including a brief description and the total length of the part (in base pairs).  Clicking on the part number in the table takes you directly to the Main Page for that part.  Parts listed in these primary tables all have DNA available in the Registry, and those that have a green "W" beside their entry have been shown to work in at least one system.
-Note that at the tops of the main tables for parts there are a clickable links entitled ''"Show __ more parts"'' (where the blanks correspond to numbers from 0 to hundreds).  The links will take you to subsidiary tables of '''parts in various stages of design and development''', usually with the planned DNA sequence, but without availability of the physical DNA or evidence for workability.
 == How to search for a composite part ==
-The same methods described above in '''(1)-(3)''' can also be used to search for devices and systems.  These always have multiple basic parts and that allows another approach --
+The same methods described above in '''(1)-(3)''' can also be used to search for composite parts, devices and systems.  Note however, that composite parts, devices and systems can have multiple basic parts associated with them.  Thus, there are another way to search for them.
-'''(4)'''  If you want a '''composite part that contains a particular basic part''', such as [https://parts.igem.org/wiki/index.php/Part:BBa_C0051 cI repressor from phage lambda], you can enter the part number into the '''Superpart Search''' box below.  In the case of that example, the search returns more than 300 parts, of which more than 60 are available in the Registry!
+If you want a '''composite part that contains a particular basic part''', such as [[Part:BBa_C0051|cI repressor from phage lambda]], you can enter the part number into the '''Superpart Search''' box.  In the case of that BBa_C0051, the search returns more than 300 parts, of which more than 60 are available in the Registry!
-== How to find alternative ways to construct a composite part ==
+== How to find previously assembled parts that will aid in constructing a composite part ==
-'''(5)'''  If you have a '''composite part''' that poses some difficulty in assembly or function you can examine '''alternatives''' by using the Subpart Search box below.  The ''Example'' link above the box nicely illustrates the power of such a search.  Note that the subparts include previously assembled intermediates.
+If you have a '''composite part''' that you wish to assemble, use the '''Subpart Search''' to find parts in the Registry that may save you time during assembly.  Check out the [https://parts.igem.org/cgi/partsdb/search.cgi?part_list=BBa_I13907;search_subparts=Search Example] to get an idea for the power of this type of search.