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European Nucleotide Archive (ENA)

EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI)
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About

Launched: 2008
Record Updated: Sep 30, 2026
Open scholarly dataset
The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) is an open repository for nucleotide sequence data. It brings together raw sequencing reads, sequence assemblies, functional annotation and associated metadata from studies across the life sciences, and provides the tools and services for submitting, managing and accessing that data. This makes ENA both a database of record and a platform for working with sequence data.
ENA is part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC), a long-standing partnership between ENA, NCBI and DDBJ. Together, the three archives maintain a comprehensive, shared collection of nucleotide sequences and their annotation that safeguards the scientific record and supports the open exchange of sequence data worldwide.

Domain Relevance

  • Biological sciences

Mission

ENA's mission is to preserve the world's nucleotide sequence data and its supporting metadata, and to make it freely and permanently available to all.

Community Engagement

Community Engagement

Implemented
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Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute to code
  • Contribute to documentation
  • Contribute to governance
  • Contribute to user research or user testing
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Community Engagement Activities

  • Annual meetings
  • Blogs
  • Interest, working, user, or advisory groups
  • Mailing lists and discussion forums (including Slack)
  • Social media
  • User research
  • Webinars and training

Additional Information

Organizational History

The ENA originates in the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library, established at EMBL Heidelberg in 1980 as the first central database of DNA sequences. Data exchange with GenBank began in 1982 and with DDBJ in 1987, forming the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC), which still underpins its operation. The database moved to EMBL-EBI in 1994, and it was re-launched in its current form in 2008, becoming an archive of raw reads, assemblies and annotations. Today, the ENA hosts over 70 PB of data, across a wide range of biological domains, amongst them pathogen surveillance and biodiversity genomics. Overall, its scope has expanded throughout its history whilst the commitment to free and unrestricted access has remained unchanged.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Intergovernmental organization

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Revenue Sources

  • Grants (private)
  • Grants (public)

Fiscal Host

EMBL
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