Genome data mining for everyone.

The genomic sequences of a huge number of species have been determined. Typically, these genome sequences and the associated annotation data are accessed through Internet-based genome browsers that offer a user-friendly interface. Intelligent use of the data should expedite biological knowledge discovery. Such activity is collectively called data mining and involves queries that can be simple, complex, and even combinational. Various tools have been developed to make genome data mining available to computational and experimental biologists alike. In this mini-review, some tools that have proven successful will be introduced along with examples taken from published reports.