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Ensembl (https://www.ensembl.org) has produced high-quality genomic resources for vertebrates and model organisms for more than twenty years. During that time, our resources, services and tools have continually evolved in line with both the publicly available genome data and the downstream research and applications that utilise the Ensembl platform. In recent years we have witnessed a dramatic shift in the genomic landscape. There has been a large increase in the number of high-quality reference genomes through global biodiversity initiatives. In parallel, there have been major advances towards pangenome representations of higher species, where many alternative genome assemblies representing different breeds, cultivars, strains and haplotypes are now available. In order to support these efforts and accelerate downstream research, it is our goal at Ensembl to create high-quality annotations, tools and services for species across the tree of life. Here, we report our resources for popular reference genomes, the dramatic growth of our annotations (including haplotypes from the first human pangenome graphs), updates to the Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor (VEP), interactive protein structure predictions from AlphaFold DB, and the beta release of our new website.

Ensembl (https://www.ensembl.org) has produced high-quality genomic resources for vertebrates and model organisms for more than twenty years. During that time, our resources, services and tools have continually evolved in line with both the publicly available genome data and the downstream research and applications that utilise the Ensembl platform. In recent years we have witnessed a dramatic shift in the genomic landscape. There has been a large increase in the number of high-quality reference genomes through global biodiversity initiatives. In parallel, there have been major advances towards pangenome representations of higher species, where many alternative genome assemblies representing different breeds, cultivars, strains and haplotypes are now available. In order to support these efforts and accelerate downstream research, it is our goal at Ensembl to create high-quality annotations, tools and services for species across the tree of life. Here, we report our resources for popular reference genomes, the dramatic growth of our annotations (including haplotypes from the first human pangenome graphs), updates to the Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor (VEP), interactive protein structure predictions from AlphaFold DB, and the beta release of our new website.

The Allele Frequency Net Database (AFND, www.allelefrequencies.net) provides the scientific community with a freely available repository for the storage of frequency data (alleles, genes, haplotypes and genotypes) related to human leukocyte antigens (HLA), killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), major histocompatibility complex Class I chain related genes (MIC) and a number of cytokine gene polymorphisms in worldwide populations. In the last five years, AFND has become more popular in terms of clinical and scientific usage, with a recent increase in genotyping data as a necessary component of Short Population Report article submissions to another scientific journal. In addition, we have developed a user-friendly desktop application for HLA and KIR genotype/population data submissions. We have also focused on classification of existing and new data into ‘gold–silver–bronze’ criteria, allowing users to filter and query depending on their needs. Moreover, we have also continued to expand other features, for example focussed on HLA associations with adverse drug reactions. At present, AFND contains >1600 populations from >10 million healthy individuals, making AFND a valuable resource for the analysis of some of the most polymorphic regions in the human genome.

Whilst immune-mediated adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are rare, they are potentially life-threatening and present a major problem for clinicians. The underlying mechanisms that cause ADRs are not fully understood although genomewide association studies (GWAS) and case-control investigations have associated human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles as risk factors. There is evidence that a patient's ethnic background can have an impact on their risk of developing an ADR. This review summarizes the evidence related to HLA alleles and ADRs with particular focus on patient ethnicity. Our analysis indicated that many of the alleles which have been associated with ADRs are found at higher frequencies in Asian populations. The data also showed that many of the alleles that are reported to be statistically significantly associated with ADRs are in linkage disequilibrium with each other and that they form haplotypes specific to certain ethnicities indicating at least some of the allele associations may not be causal.

The allele frequency net database (AFND, http://www.allelefrequencies.net ) is an online web-based repository that contains information on the frequencies of immune-related genes and their corresponding alleles in worldwide human populations. At present, the system contains data from 1505 populations in more than ten million individuals on the frequency of genes from different polymorphic regions including data for the human leukocyte antigens (HLA) system. This resource has been widely used in a variety of contexts such as histocompatibility, immunology, epidemiology, pharmacogenetics, and population genetics, among many others. In this chapter, we present some of the more commonly used searching mechanisms and some of the most recent developments included in AFND.

Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are an important family of genes involved in the immune system. Their primary function is to allow the host immune system to be able to distinguish between self and non-self peptides—e.g. derived from invading pathogens. However, these genes have also been implicated in immune-mediated adverse drug reactions (ADRs), presenting a problem to patients, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies. We have previously developed the Allele Frequency Net Database (AFND) that captures the allelic and haplotype frequencies for these HLA genes across many healthy populations from around the world. Here, we report the development and release of the HLA-ADR database that captures data from publications where HLA alleles and haplotypes have been associated with ADRs (e.g. Stevens–Johnson Syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis and drug-induced liver injury). HLA-ADR was created by using data obtained through systematic review of the literature and semi-automated literature mining. The database also draws on data already present in AFND allowing users to compare and analyze allele frequencies in both ADR patients and healthy populations. The HLA-ADR database provides clinicians and researchers with a centralized resource from which to investigate immune-mediated ADRs. Database URL: http://www.allelefrequencies.net/hla-adr/.