# Web-Based Resource for Genomic Enzymology Tools

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 2022 · $718,955

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This application requests support for a web-based resource that provides community access to “genomic
enzymology” tools to 1) enable identification of uncharacterized proteins for functional discovery, including those
that are present in human microbiome and other metagenomic communities; 2) facilitate assignment of function
to uncharacterized proteins by providing easy access to genome context/functional linkage; and 3) survey
sequence-function space in protein families for identification of candidates for functional screening and
improvement of desired biochemical/biophysical properties (useful for systems biology as well as the
pharmaceutical and chemical applications). The resource provides three integrated tools: 1) EFI-EST for
visualization/analysis of sequence-function space in proteins families using sequence similarity networks
(SSNs); 2) EFI-GNT for visualization/analysis of genome context for microbial and fungal proteins in SSNs using
genome neighborhood networks and genome neighborhood diagrams to identify functionally linked proteins
(e.g., enzymes, transporters, and transcriptional regulators in novel metabolic pathways); and 3) EFI-CGFP for
chemically guided functional profiling that maps metagenome and/or meta-transcriptome abundance to clusters
in SSNs for identification of important microbiome targets for functional characterization. The resource enables
access to the tools without the need for users to have computer programming expertise and/or local access to
the necessary computational infrastructure. The resource has been available since 2014; its development and
dissemination have been supported by U54GM093342 and P01GM118303. The resource has been accessed
by >5,000 domestic and international users and cited in >300 publications and patents, confirming its ease-of-
use, popularity, and impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10192037
- **Project number:** 1R24GM141196-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN A GERLT
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $718,955
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-01-10 → 2026-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10192037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10192037, Web-Based Resource for Genomic Enzymology Tools (1R24GM141196-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10192037. Licensed CC0.

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