Types of Data
The various types of data. Many different types of data are collected and stored in databases to facilitate retrieval. Depicted here are amino acid sequences, protein domain cartoons, different renderings of three-dimensional structures, and protein hydrophobicity data. Databases consisting of data derived experimentally such as nucleotide sequences and three-dimensional structures are known as primary databases. Those data that are derived from the analysis or treatment of primary data such as secondary structures, hydrophobicity plots, and domains are stored in secondary databases. A protein database consisting of the conceptual translation of nucleotide sequences would also be considered a secondary database.