The IgPdb Database

The IgPdb Database is a curated repository of suspected allelic variants of human immunoglobulin germline genes. Its primary purpose is to give the research community access to a more complete repertoire of immunoglobulin genes and allelic variants than the officially sanctioned IMGT repertoire.

In recent years, large numbers of suspected polymorphisms have been identified. Many of these variants have been seen in sequence databases generated using next generation sequencing. Although a number of IGHV allelic variants in the IMGT repertoire were identified in the past from VDJ rearrangements, IMGT does not currently recognize allelic variants inferred from rearranged VDJ genes. This is despite the fact that in many cases, thousands of different rearrangements from many different individuals point to the existence of the polymorphisms. These variant sequences need to be available to the research community, and the IgPdb database serves this purpose.

The IgPdb database is open for submission of putative polymorphisms. Although we offer advise on how to recognize polymorphisms, the curators of the database will not evaluate the likelihood that a submitted sequence is a true variant. The IgPdb database does provide information that can guide researchers in their evaluation of the sequences in the database, and provides the means to customize germline gene repertoires. Information is provided regarding the number of independent samples and separate studies that have identified the putative polymorphisms. We also welcome comments in support of or against the recognition of particular sequences