| name | query-uniprot |
| description | Query UniProt protein database. Use when user asks about protein sequences, functions, annotations, domains, or protein identifiers. Triggers on "uniprot", "protein function", "protein sequence", "gene product", "protein info". |
UniProt Protein Database Query
Query the UniProt REST API for protein information.
When to Use
- User asks about a protein's function, sequence, or annotation
- User provides a gene name and wants protein info
- User needs protein accession IDs
- User asks "what does gene X do" (protein level)
How to Execute
import requests
import json
BASE_URL = "https://rest.uniprot.org"
def search_uniprot(gene_name, organism_id=9606, max_results=5):
url = f"{BASE_URL}/uniprotkb/search"
params = {
"query": f"gene_exact:{gene_name} AND organism_id:{organism_id} AND reviewed:true",
"format": "json",
"size": max_results,
"fields": "accession,id,gene_names,protein_name,organism_name,length,cc_function,ft_domain,sequence"
}
r = requests.get(url, params=params)
r.raise_for_status()
return r.json()
def get_uniprot_entry(accession):
url = f"{BASE_URL}/uniprotkb/{accession}.json"
r = requests.get(url)
r.raise_for_status()
return r.json()
def get_fasta(accession):
url = f"{BASE_URL}/uniprotkb/{accession}.fasta"
r = requests.get(url)
r.raise_for_status()
return r.text
data = search_uniprot("TP53")
for entry in data.get("results", []):
acc = entry["primaryAccession"]
name = entry.get("proteinDescription", {}).get("recommendedName", {}).get("fullName", {}).get("value", "N/A")
gene = entry.get("genes", [{}])[0].get("geneName", {}).get("value", "N/A")
length = entry.get("sequence", {}).get("length", "N/A")
functions = [c["texts"][0]["value"] for c in entry.get("comments", []) if c["commentType"] == "FUNCTION"]
func_text = functions[0][:200] if functions else "N/A"
print(f"Accession: {acc}")
print(f"Protein: {name}")
print(f"Gene: {gene}")
print(f"Length: {length} aa")
print(f"Function: {func_text}")
Common Search Patterns
- By gene:
gene_exact:BRCA1 AND organism_id:9606
- By keyword:
keyword:kinase AND organism_id:9606
- By disease:
cc_disease:cancer AND organism_id:9606
- By GO term:
go:apoptosis AND organism_id:9606
- Species IDs: Human=9606, Mouse=10090, Rat=10116, Zebrafish=7955, Fly=7227, Yeast=559292
Output Format
Present: Accession, protein name, gene, organism, length, function summary, and UniProt link.
Follow-up Suggestions
- "Want me to get the AlphaFold structure for this protein?"
- "Should I check protein-protein interactions on STRING?"
- "Want me to BLAST this protein sequence?"