# groovDB in 2026: a community-editable database of small molecule biosensors

## TL;DR

groovDB is a community-editable database for small molecule biosensors, now with improved features for adding and searching data on transcription factors.

## Contribution

groovDB now allows community editing and includes advanced search features and interactive visualizations.

## Key findings

- groovDB's user interface now supports interactive protein structures and DNA-binding motifs.
- Database query methods now include text, chemical similarity, and attribute filtering.
- The number of TF entries has more than doubled since the 2022 launch.

## Abstract

The groovDB database (https://groov.bio) was launched in 2022 with the goal of organizing information on prokaryotic ligand-inducible transcription factors (TFs). This class of proteins is important in fundamental areas of microbiology research and for biotechnological applications that develop biosensors for diagnostics, enzyme screening, and real-time metabolite tracking. Uniquely, groovDB contains stringently curated, literature-referenced data on both TF:DNA and TF:ligand interactions. Here, we describe a major technical update to groovDB, making the database community-editable and adding several advanced features. Users can now add new TF entries and update existing entries using a simple online form. New user interface elements display interactive protein structures and DNA-binding motifs. Updated query methods enable database searches via text, chemical similarity, and attribute filtering. A new data architecture reduces page load time by five-fold. Finally, the number of TF entries has more than doubled and all source code is now open-access.

Graphical Abstract