EZ-Retrieve: a web-server for batch retrieval of coordinate-specified human DNA sequences and underscoring putative transcription factor-binding sites.

The availability of a draft human genome sequence and ability to monitor the transcription of thousands of genes with DNA microarrays has necessitated the need for new computational tools that can analyze cis-regulatory elements controlling genes that display similar expression patterns. We have developed a tool designated EZ-Retrieve that can: (i) retrieve any particular region of human genome sequence from the NCBI database and (ii) analyze retrieved sequences for putative transcription factor-binding sites (TFBSs) as they appear on the TRANSFAC database. The tool is web-based, user-friendly and offers both batch sequence retrieval and batch TFBS prediction. A major application of EZ-Retrieve is the analysis of co-expressed genes that are highlighted as expression clusters in DNA microarray experiments.