If you are interested in exploring or capitalizing on human genetic diversity then you should know about ALFRED — the Allele Frequency Database. It provides access to allele frequency data from a wide range of human population samples and links these data to the molecular genetics and human genome databases.
Although it initially contained only data from the laboratories of Ken and Judy Kidd, it is now being systematically and continuously updated with data from published literature. So far, ALFRED contains 798 polymorphisms in 357 populations. Data can be downloaded for analysis into a single compressed 'data dump' file in the declared XML format. The data dump can include either all relevant information (including descriptions) or only the data relevant to statistical analyses. You can also add your own data by contacting the curators.
The database can be searched using a unique identifier (UID) — a code that allows identification of a record across many data tables. Relevant publications can be searched for by author name, whereas frequencies can be searched by locus name, chromosome or polymorphism name and genotyping methods, to name but a few. There are also ways of searching by specific population or chromosome. Informative pages on individual populations, including links to external sources of information, are also provided.
The database is being continually improved; for example, as of mid-July 2003 you can register with ALFRED for e-mail updates. And for those who might be worried about the ethical implications of an undertaking such as the, there is an ethics statement that clarifies the motives of its creators.
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Skipper, M. Allele Frequency Database. Nat Rev Genet 4, 674 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1173
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1173
