PaperBLAST – Find papers about a protein or its homologs

 

PaperBLAST

PaperBLAST Hits for PP_4894 (86 a.a., MSKGHSLQDP...)

Other sequence analysis tools:

Find functional residues: SitesBLAST

Search for conserved domains

Find the best match in UniProt

Compare to protein structures

Predict transmenbrane helices: Phobius

Predict protein localization: PSORTb

Find homologs in fast.genomics

Fitness BLAST: loading...

Found 101 similar proteins in the literature:

PP4894 host factor-I protein from Pseudomonas putida KT2440
100% identity, 100% coverage

Pchl3084_0554 RNA chaperone Hfq from Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aureofaciens 30-84
88% identity, 100% coverage

PFLU0520 Hfq protein (host factor-I protein) from Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25
85% identity, 100% coverage

PA4944 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1
NP_253631 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1
85% identity, 100% coverage

HELO_3364 RNA chaperone Hfq from Halomonas elongata DSM 2581
80% identity, 94% coverage

3m4gF / Q9HUM0 H57a hfq from pseudomonas aeruginosa (see paper)
93% identity, 83% coverage

PMI3365 protein Hfq (host factor-I protein) from Proteus mirabilis HI4320
73% identity, 90% coverage

HFQ_SALTY / P0A1R0 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Salmonella typhimurium (strain LT2 / SGSC1412 / ATCC 700720) (see 2 papers)
NP_463222 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium str. LT2
STM4361 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication, a growth-related protein from Salmonella typhimurium LT2
NP_458797 host factor-I protein(HF-I) from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi str. CT18
STM14_5242 RNA chaperone Hfq from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium str. 14028S
73% identity, 84% coverage

SO_0603 host factor-I protein from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1
75% identity, 88% coverage

Hfq / b4172 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Escherichia coli K-12 substr. MG1655 (see 56 papers)
HFQ_ECOLI / P0A6X3 RNA-binding protein Hfq; HF-1; Host factor-I protein; HF-I from Escherichia coli (strain K12) (see 8 papers)
b4172 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Escherichia coli str. K-12 substr. MG1655
B7MSJ0 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Escherichia coli O81 (strain ED1a)
NP_313175 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Escherichia coli O157:H7 str. Sakai
NP_418593 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Escherichia coli str. K-12 substr. MG1655
NP_710037 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Shigella flexneri 2a str. 301
Z5779 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication, a growth-related protein from Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL933
NP_313175 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Escherichia coli O157:H7 str. Sakai
SF5M90T_4236 RNA chaperone Hfq from Shigella flexneri 5a str. M90T
87% identity, 67% coverage

CsakCS931_RS18715, WP_004385293 RNA chaperone Hfq from Cronobacter sakazakii
87% identity, 67% coverage

KPN_04570 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae MGH 78578
70% identity, 84% coverage

XF0089 host factor-I protein from Xylella fastidiosa 9a5c
XF_RS00365 RNA chaperone Hfq from Xylella fastidiosa 32
86% identity, 76% coverage

VF_2323, WP_011262725 RNA chaperone Hfq from Aliivibrio fischeri ES114
VF_2323 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Vibrio fischeri ES114
75% identity, 91% coverage

WP_011036893 RNA chaperone Hfq from Xanthomonas campestris JX
84% identity, 76% coverage

VAS14_18834 RNA chaperone Hfq from Photobacterium angustum S14
VAS14_18834 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Vibrio angustum S14
73% identity, 94% coverage

WP_005915027 RNA chaperone Hfq from Xanthomonas euroxanthea
XCV1768 Host factor-I protein from Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria str. 85-10
84% identity, 76% coverage

GM298_16695 RNA chaperone Hfq from Enterobacter sp. HSTU-ASh6
69% identity, 83% coverage

NT01EI_RS01835 RNA chaperone Hfq from Edwardsiella ictaluri 93-146
87% identity, 67% coverage

LMH90_010755 RNA chaperone Hfq from Enterobacter hormaechei
87% identity, 66% coverage

APL_1961 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae L20
WP_005599741 RNA chaperone Hfq from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovar 1 str. 4074
87% identity, 74% coverage

PANA_RS17940 RNA chaperone Hfq from Pantoea ananatis LMG 20103
87% identity, 65% coverage

Smlt1736 putative phage-related protein (host factor-I protein) from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia K279a
WP_004152891 RNA chaperone Hfq from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia K279a
84% identity, 77% coverage

K3G22_16320 RNA chaperone Hfq from Shewanella putrefaciens
75% identity, 88% coverage

NP_760222 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Vibrio vulnificus CMCP6
75% identity, 97% coverage

PD0066 host factor-I protein from Xylella fastidiosa Temecula1
84% identity, 76% coverage

JHW33_RS18790, WP_013573763 RNA chaperone Hfq from Rahnella aceris
87% identity, 67% coverage

HFQ_VIBCH / Q9KV11 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Vibrio cholerae serotype O1 (strain ATCC 39315 / El Tor Inaba N16961) (see paper)
NP_230001, VC0347 host factor-I, putative from Vibrio cholerae O1 biovar eltor str. N16961
85% identity, 78% coverage

WP_012886271 RNA chaperone Hfq from Dickeya parazeae
87% identity, 69% coverage

SGGMMB4_00878 RNA chaperone Hfq from Sodalis glossinidius str. 'morsitans'
87% identity, 67% coverage

HFQ_PECCC / Q9ZI76 RNA-binding protein Hfq; Bacteriocin gene regulator from Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora) (see paper)
75% identity, 80% coverage

YPK_3799 RNA chaperone Hfq from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis YPIII
80% identity, 75% coverage

HI0411 host factor-I protein (hfq) from Haemophilus influenzae Rd KW20
85% identity, 75% coverage

VP2817 putative host factor-I from Vibrio parahaemolyticus RIMD 2210633
M892_12140 RNA chaperone Hfq from Vibrio campbellii ATCC BAA-1116
85% identity, 78% coverage

Q56928 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Yersinia enterocolitica
85% identity, 67% coverage

PmVP161_0914, WP_005716974 RNA chaperone Hfq from Pasteurella multocida
85% identity, 71% coverage

DYL72_09115 RNA chaperone Hfq from Vibrio anguillarum
84% identity, 77% coverage

A4TRN9 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Yersinia pestis (strain Pestoides F)
84% identity, 67% coverage

WP_001983665 RNA chaperone Hfq from Acinetobacter baumannii
84% identity, 40% coverage

ACICU_02310 uncharacterized host factor I protein from Acinetobacter baumannii ACICU
KZA74_07030, WM39_12950 RNA chaperone Hfq from Acinetobacter baumannii
84% identity, 41% coverage

Q6F9W2 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Acinetobacter baylyi (strain ATCC 33305 / BD413 / ADP1)
84% identity, 40% coverage

4v2sA / P0A6X3 Crystal structure of hfq in complex with the srna rydc (see paper)
88% identity, 76% coverage

BB3170 putative RNA-binding regulatory protein from Bordetella bronchiseptica RB50
BP2193 putative RNA-binding regulatory protein from Bordetella pertussis Tohama I
76% identity, 88% coverage

AK34_1317 RNA chaperone Hfq from Burkholderia dolosa AU0158
BCAL1879 Hfq protein from Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315
74% identity, 94% coverage

bglu_1g14550 Small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (Sm protein) from Burkholderia glumae BGR1
83% identity, 80% coverage

LV28_24345 RNA chaperone Hfq from Pandoraea pnomenusa
83% identity, 80% coverage

Hsero_2948 RNA chaperone Hfq from Herbaspirillum seropedicae SmR1
75% identity, 88% coverage

Q8Y025 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Ralstonia nicotianae (strain ATCC BAA-1114 / GMI1000)
75% identity, 87% coverage

lpg0009 host factor-I protein for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Legionella pneumophila subsp. pneumophila str. Philadelphia 1
Q5X982 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Legionella pneumophila (strain Paris)
lpp0009 hypothetical protein from Legionella pneumophila str. Paris
74% identity, 84% coverage

FTT_0630 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis SCHU S4
73% identity, 64% coverage

FTA_RS04620 RNA chaperone Hfq from Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica FTNF002-00
FTL_0898 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica
FTN_1051 host factor I for bacteriophage Q beta replication from Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida U112
73% identity, 64% coverage

OFAG_00111 RNA chaperone Hfq from Oxalobacter paraformigenes
68% identity, 87% coverage

OFBG_00195 RNA chaperone Hfq from Oxalobacter formigenes OXCC13
68% identity, 87% coverage

NGO0326 Hfq from Neisseria gonorrhoeae FA 1090
79% identity, 71% coverage

NMB0748 host factor-I from Neisseria meningitidis MC58
NMV_1646 RNA chaperone Hfq from Neisseria meningitidis 8013
79% identity, 71% coverage

Pnuc_1286 RNA chaperone Hfq from Polynucleobacter sp. QLW-P1DMWA-1
79% identity, 78% coverage

CC1745 host factor-I protein from Caulobacter crescentus CB15
CCNA_01819 RNA-binding protein, Hfq family from Caulobacter crescentus NA1000
YP_002517192 RNA-binding protein, Hfq family from Caulobacter vibrioides NA1000
56% identity, 84% coverage

HFQ_AZOC5 / Q43971 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Azorhizobium caulinodans (strain ATCC 43989 / DSM 5975 / JCM 20966 / LMG 6465 / NBRC 14845 / NCIMB 13405 / ORS 571) (see paper)
AZC_3080 protein hfq from Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS 571
55% identity, 85% coverage

Q8TCX0 Delta 2-isopentenyl pyrophosphate transferase-like protein (Fragment) from Homo sapiens
83% identity, 56% coverage

RSP_2843 Host factor I protein from Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1
56% identity, 83% coverage

WP_003496145 RNA chaperone Hfq from Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Atu1450 putative RNA-binding protein Hfq from Agrobacterium tumefaciens str. C58 (Cereon)
49% identity, 90% coverage

ZZ6_0899 RNA chaperone Hfq from Zymomonas mobilis subsp. mobilis ATCC 29191
53% identity, 46% coverage

RL2284 putative host factor protein from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841
51% identity, 79% coverage

SMc01048 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021
51% identity, 79% coverage

GDI_2262 RNA chaperone Hfq from Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus PA1 5
Q8RMG6 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus
54% identity, 74% coverage

ZMO0347 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Zymomonas mobilis subsp. mobilis ZM4
57% identity, 41% coverage

HFQ_BRUA2 / Q2YPW9 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Brucella abortus (strain 2308) (see paper)
BAB1_1134 Host factor Hfq from Brucella melitensis biovar Abortus 2308
BMEI0872 NFRA PROTEIN from Brucella melitensis 16M
BOV_1070 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Brucella ovis ATCC 25840
51% identity, 79% coverage

LIC12245 host factor-1 from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni str. Fiocruz L1-130
Q8F5Z7 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Lai (strain 56601)
LA_1517 host factor I related protein from Leptospira interrogans serovar lai str. 56601
42% identity, 98% coverage

BJP26_08430 RNA chaperone Hfq from Sphingomonas melonis TY
51% identity, 46% coverage

CAC1834 Host factor I protein Hfq from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824
CA_C1834 RNA chaperone Hfq from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824
46% identity, 85% coverage

PPE_RS12655 RNA chaperone Hfq from Paenibacillus polymyxa E681
43% identity, 88% coverage

O66512 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Aquifex aeolicus (strain VF5)
57% identity, 70% coverage

5szeA / O66512 Crystal structure of aquifex aeolicus hfq-RNA complex at 1.5a (see paper)
57% identity, 70% coverage

C1A50_RS13605, PPSC2_RS42680 RNA chaperone Hfq from Paenibacillus polymyxa SC2
45% identity, 81% coverage

Q1IIF9 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Koribacter versatilis (strain Ellin345)
48% identity, 83% coverage

STH1746 host factor-1 protein from Symbiobacterium thermophilum IAM 14863
55% identity, 70% coverage

DMR38_10895 RNA chaperone Hfq from Clostridium sp. AWRP
44% identity, 90% coverage

CD630_19740 RNA chaperone Hfq from Clostridioides difficile 630
CD1974 HfQ protein from Clostridium difficile 630
45% identity, 76% coverage

C3P4Y3 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Bacillus anthracis (strain A0248)
BC3713 Hfq protein from Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579
GBAA3842 host factor-I protein from Bacillus anthracis str. 'Ames Ancestor'
BAS3559 host factor-I protein from Bacillus anthracis str. Sterne
BMB171_RS18400 RNA chaperone Hfq from Bacillus thuringiensis BMB171
49% identity, 79% coverage

LMRG_00745 hfq protein from Listeria monocytogenes 10403S
lmo1295 similar to host factor-1 protein from Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e
51% identity, 78% coverage

4nl3F / Q92C58 Crystal structure of listeria monocytogenes hfq in complex with u6 rna (see paper)
51% identity, 78% coverage

Q9WYZ6 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Thermotoga maritima (strain ATCC 43589 / DSM 3109 / JCM 10099 / NBRC 100826 / MSB8)
46% identity, 76% coverage

3hsbB / O31796 Crystal structure of ymah (hfq) from bacillus subtilis in complex with an RNA aptamer (see paper)
45% identity, 77% coverage

Clocel_2035 RNA chaperone Hfq from Clostridium cellulovorans 743B
43% identity, 85% coverage

O31796 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Bacillus subtilis (strain 168)
NP_389616 Hfq RNA chaperone from Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168
U712_09100 RNA chaperone Hfq from Bacillus subtilis PY79
45% identity, 76% coverage

Q65JA8 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Bacillus licheniformis (strain ATCC 14580 / DSM 13 / JCM 2505 / CCUG 7422 / NBRC 12200 / NCIMB 9375 / NCTC 10341 / NRRL NRS-1264 / Gibson 46)
43% identity, 80% coverage

Bphy_1711 RNA chaperone Hfq from Burkholderia phymatum STM815
Bphy_1711 RNA chaperone Hfq from Paraburkholderia phymatum STM815
48% identity, 49% coverage

BCAL1538 Hfq protein from Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315
55% identity, 29% coverage

4y91F / Q9WYZ6 Crystal structure of a thermotoga maritima hfq homolog
46% identity, 79% coverage

bglu_1g19700 hypothetical protein from Burkholderia glumae BGR1
55% identity, 30% coverage

RBAM_017140 Hfq from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42
44% identity, 76% coverage

GSU1999 hfq protein from Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA
46% identity, 66% coverage

SERP0871 host factor-I protein, putative from Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A
33% identity, 90% coverage

SAR1279 conserved hypothetical protein from Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus MRSA252
32% identity, 90% coverage

SAKG18_12120 RNA chaperone Hfq from Staphylococcus aureus
Q2FYZ1 RNA-binding protein Hfq from Staphylococcus aureus (strain NCTC 8325 / PS 47)
SA1145 hypothetical protein from Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus N315
SACOL1324 hfq protein, putative from Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus COL
YP_499813 host factor 1 protein from Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus NCTC 8325
35% identity, 71% coverage

1kq2H / A0A0H3JV59 Crystal structure of an hfq-RNA complex (see paper)
37% identity, 65% coverage

GBAA_RS29265 RNA chaperone Hfq from Bacillus anthracis str. 'Ames Ancestor'
43% identity, 64% coverage

BA1656 host factor-I protein from Bacillus anthracis str. Ames
39% identity, 67% coverage

New Search

For advice on how to use these tools together, see Interactive tools for functional annotation of bacterial genomes.

Statistics

The PaperBLAST database links 793,807 different protein sequences to 1,259,118 scientific articles. Searches against EuropePMC were last performed on March 13 2025.

How It Works

PaperBLAST builds a database of protein sequences that are linked to scientific articles. These links come from automated text searches against the articles in EuropePMC and from manually-curated information from GeneRIF, UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, BRENDA, CAZy (as made available by dbCAN), BioLiP, CharProtDB, MetaCyc, EcoCyc, TCDB, REBASE, the Fitness Browser, and a subset of the European Nucleotide Archive with the /experiment tag. Given this database and a protein sequence query, PaperBLAST uses protein-protein BLAST to find similar sequences with E < 0.001.

To build the database, we query EuropePMC with locus tags, with RefSeq protein identifiers, and with UniProt accessions. We obtain the locus tags from RefSeq or from MicrobesOnline. We use queries of the form "locus_tag AND genus_name" to try to ensure that the paper is actually discussing that gene. Because EuropePMC indexes most recent biomedical papers, even if they are not open access, some of the links may be to papers that you cannot read or that our computers cannot read. We query each of these identifiers that appears in the open access part of EuropePMC, as well as every locus tag that appears in the 500 most-referenced genomes, so that a gene may appear in the PaperBLAST results even though none of the papers that mention it are open access. We also incorporate text-mined links from EuropePMC that link open access articles to UniProt or RefSeq identifiers. (This yields some additional links because EuropePMC uses different heuristics for their text mining than we do.)

For every article that mentions a locus tag, a RefSeq protein identifier, or a UniProt accession, we try to select one or two snippets of text that refer to the protein. If we cannot get access to the full text, we try to select a snippet from the abstract, but unfortunately, unique identifiers such as locus tags are rarely provided in abstracts.

PaperBLAST also incorporates manually-curated protein functions:

Except for GeneRIF and ENA, the curated entries include a short curated description of the protein's function. For entries from BioLiP, the protein's function may not be known beyond binding to the ligand. Many of these entries also link to articles in PubMed.

For more information see the PaperBLAST paper (mSystems 2017) or the code. You can download PaperBLAST's database here.

Changes to PaperBLAST since the paper was written:

Many of these changes are described in Interactive tools for functional annotation of bacterial genomes.

Secrets

PaperBLAST cannot provide snippets for many of the papers that are published in non-open-access journals. This limitation applies even if the paper is marked as "free" on the publisher's web site and is available in PubmedCentral or EuropePMC. If a journal that you publish in is marked as "secret," please consider publishing elsewhere.

Omissions from the PaperBLAST Database

Many important articles are missing from PaperBLAST, either because the article's full text is not in EuropePMC (as for many older articles), or because the paper does not mention a protein identifier such as a locus tag, or because of PaperBLAST's heuristics. If you notice an article that characterizes a protein's function but is missing from PaperBLAST, please notify the curators at UniProt or add an entry to GeneRIF. Entries in either of these databases will eventually be incorporated into PaperBLAST. Note that to add an entry to UniProt, you will need to find the UniProt identifier for the protein. If the protein is not already in UniProt, you can ask them to create an entry. To add an entry to GeneRIF, you will need an NCBI Gene identifier, but unfortunately many prokaryotic proteins in RefSeq do not have corresponding Gene identifers.

References

PaperBLAST: Text-mining papers for information about homologs.
M. N. Price and A. P. Arkin (2017). mSystems, 10.1128/mSystems.00039-17.

Europe PMC in 2017.
M. Levchenko et al (2017). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkx1005.

Gene indexing: characterization and analysis of NLM's GeneRIFs.
J. A. Mitchell et al (2003). AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2003:460-464.

UniProt: the universal protein knowledgebase.
The UniProt Consortium (2016). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkw1099.

BRENDA in 2017: new perspectives and new tools in BRENDA.
S. Placzek et al (2017). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkw952.

The EcoCyc database: reflecting new knowledge about Escherichia coli K-12.
I. M. Keeseler et al (2016). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkw1003.

The MetaCyc database of metabolic pathways and enzymes.
R. Caspi et al (2018). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkx935.

CharProtDB: a database of experimentally characterized protein annotations.
R. Madupu et al (2012). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkr1133.

The carbohydrate-active enzymes database (CAZy) in 2013.
V. Lombard et al (2014). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkt1178.

The Transporter Classification Database (TCDB): recent advances
M. H. Saier, Jr. et al (2016). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gkv1103.

REBASE - a database for DNA restriction and modification: enzymes, genes and genomes.
R. J. Roberts et al (2015). Nucleic Acids Research, 10.1093/nar/gku1046.

Deep annotation of protein function across diverse bacteria from mutant phenotypes.
M. N. Price et al (2016). bioRxiv, 10.1101/072470.

by Morgan Price, Arkin group
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory