NCBI Gene Database

Overview

NCBI Gene is the authoritative curated database for gene-centric information, covering 1M+ genes across hundreds of thousands of taxa. Each gene record includes the official symbol, aliases, full name, functional summary, genomic coordinates (GRCh38/GRCh37), RefSeq accessions, GO annotations, interaction partners, and links to related databases. Access is free via E-utilities REST API (no API key required, though recommended).

When to Use

• Resolving gene aliases and synonyms to the current official HGNC/NCBI symbol
• Fetching the NCBI Gene ID (integer) for a gene symbol for downstream API calls (e.g., dbSNP, ClinVar, GEO)
• Retrieving curated gene summaries and function descriptions programmatically
• Pulling RefSeq mRNA (NM_) and protein (NP_) accessions associated with a gene
• Querying GO functional annotations (Biological Process, Molecular Function, Cellular Component)
• Finding orthologs across species via the NCBI Datasets v2 orthologs endpoint (legacy E-utilities gene_gene_homolog retired with HomoloGene in 2019)
• For expression profiles across conditions use geo-database; for variant annotations use clinvar-database or ensembl-database

Prerequisites