What Sections and Tools Are Available on the ELM Website?

The ELM resource at elm.eu.org is organized into five main areas: ELM Prediction, ELM DB, ELM Candidates, ELM Information, and ELM Downloads. Use ELM Prediction when you want to search for or predict motif matches in a protein sequence; use ELM DB when you need curated, literature-backed motif classes and instances; use ELM Candidates for proposed but not yet fully curated entries; use ELM Information for help, news, statistics, plots, links, API access, and background on the resource; and use ELM Downloads when you need bulk data files rather than browsing records one at a time.

ELM Prediction

This section is the entry point for querying sequences against the ELM resource. It is the section to start from if your goal is to find linear motif matches rather than read documentation about known motifs.

ELM DB

ELM DB is the curated core of the resource. Its sub-sections cover:

• ELM classes — the defined motif classes
• ELM instances — individual occurrences of those classes
• ELM pdb structures — motif-related structural entries
• ELM binding domains — domains that interact with motifs
• ELM switches — motif-based switching elements
• ELM pathways — pathway associations
• ELM references — literature supporting entries
• ELM related diseases — disease links
• ELM viral instances — viral motif occurrences
• ELM pathogenic abuse — pathogen-driven misuse of motifs
• ELM experiments — experimental validation records
• ELM GO Terms — Gene Ontology annotations

ELM Candidates

This section holds candidate classes and candidate instances — entries proposed for the resource but not yet at the same status as the curated ELM DB records. Treat it as a staging area rather than the final curated set.

ELM Information

This section collects the supporting material around the data:

• Help — guidance on using the resource
• News — release and update announcements
• Stats and Plots — quantitative overviews of the resource
• Links — related external resources
• API — programmatic access
• About — background on ELM

The homepage also highlights a third-party tool, gget elm, described as a way to run fast, scalable queries of eukaryotic linear motifs locally. That is a separate tool referenced by ELM, not one of the five main sections.

ELM Downloads

ELM Downloads provides bulk files rather than browsable pages. The listed download categories are:

Which section should you use?

• You have a protein sequence and want motif matches → ELM Prediction.
• You want a specific curated motif class or its known instances → ELM DB.
• You want entries that are proposed but not yet fully curated → ELM Candidates.
• You need documentation, statistics, or programmatic access → ELM Information.
• You need the whole dataset for local analysis → ELM Downloads.

The homepage also surfaces recent database updates, including newly released and revised classes. Examples from those announcements include new classes such as DOC_TBK1_STING_1, DEG_Cend_DCAF12_1, LIG_TRAF3_MATH_PxP_3, and MOD_AAK1BIKe_LxxQxTG_1, along with revised classes such as LIG_TRAF2like_MATH_shPxQ_1 and LIG_SH3_PxxDY_5. Checking the News section under ELM Information is the way to track these changes.