dbsnp

is a Data Source.

dbSNP contains human single nucleotide variations, microsatellites, and small-scale insertions and deletions along with publication, population frequency, molecular consequence, and genomic and RefSeq mapping information for both common variations and clinical mutations.

Domains

biological systems, health

License

Public Domain

Homepage

dbsnp

Repository

GitHub

Infores ID

infores:dbsnp

FAIRsharing ID

Unknown

Product Summary

Products

From this Resource
ID Name URL Category Format Description
dbsnp.site dbSNP Web Interface snp GraphicalInterface Web interface for searching and explo...
dbsnp.api dbSNP E-utilities API NBK25500 ProgrammingInterface Programmatic access to dbSNP data via...
dbsnp.json dbSNP JSON Files JSON Product json JSON format files with dbSNP RefSNP data
dbsnp.variation.api NCBI Variation Services API v0 ProgrammingInterface NCBI Variation Services API for acces...
From other Resources
ID Name URL Category Format Description
biomarkerkg.nodes.variant BKG Variant Nodes Variant.nodes.zip (764.6 KB) GraphProduct csv Nodes from dbSNP
rna-kg.kg.neo4j RNA-KG Neo4j Dump rnakgv20.dump (3.7 GB) GraphProduct neo4j RNA-KG as a Neo4j Dump
rna-kg.kg.nodes RNA-KG Nodes nodes.csv (4.1 GB) GraphProduct csv RNA-KG Nodes in CSV format
rna-kg.kg.edges RNA-KG Edges edges.csv (17.1 GB) GraphProduct csv RNA-KG Edges in CSV format
genecards.variant.data GeneCards Variant Data www.genecards.org Product http Genetic variant data from ClinVar, db...

Details

dbSNP (Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) is a public archive for genetic variation established in 1999 by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). It serves as a central repository for both single nucleotide variations and small-scale insertions and deletions (indels).

The database contains over 328 million reference SNPs (as noted on the homepage) and includes data on:

  • Single nucleotide variations
  • Small insertions and deletions
  • Microsatellites and short tandem repeats
  • Population allele frequencies
  • Genomic and RefSeq mapping coordinates
  • Molecular consequences and functional impacts
  • Clinical significance annotations
  • Links to associated publications

dbSNP assigns unique identifiers to variants (RefSNP or “rs” numbers) which are widely used in genomic research and clinical settings for consistent variant identification across different studies and platforms. The database is integrated with other NCBI resources including PubMed, Gene, ClinVar, and the NCBI Variation services.

The resource also includes the Allele Frequency Aggregator (ALFA) project, which provides allele frequency data from over 200,000 subjects with regular updates, aiming to eventually cover data from more than 1 million dbGaP subjects.

Data from dbSNP is available through a web interface, programmatic APIs like E-utilities and Variation Services, and bulk downloads via FTP in formats including VCF, JSON, and XML.

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Created: May 04, 2025 | Last modified: February 20, 2026