Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about using this platform. Still stuck? Use the Contact Us form — most submissions are tracked as a real, referenceable ticket.
Getting started
What is the African DSI DataBank?
A federated platform for hosting, mirroring, curating, and governing access to Africa-origin biodiversity/agriculture Digital Sequence Information (DSI) — genomes, proteins, structures, eDNA, and more — aggregated across a Continental Hub and its connected Sub-regional, National, and Spoke nodes.
What species or data can I actually find on this platform? Any examples?
Real African-origin biodiversity and agricultural species — genomes and transcriptomes, translated proteins and experimental proteomics, predicted protein structures, eDNA/metagenomics, chemical and metabolic profiles, and field/specimen and cellular/molecular imaging — contributed by connected nodes and mirrored from external archives (NCBI, ENA, GBIF, and others). The catalog grows as more nodes and data sources connect, so the exact list changes over time; browse what's there right now on the homepage (search by name, filter by country/license/taxonomic group, or step through the A-Z index).
Species catalog · Genomes · Data Dashboard (per-species completeness)
What is a Spoke, National Hub, Sub-regional Hub, or Continental Hub?
These are the four tiers of the federation, from the ground up: a Spoke is an individual institution's own data holder — where a genome or other record is actually captured. A National Hub aggregates every Spoke in one country. A Sub-regional Hub aggregates every National Hub in one AU region. The Continental Hub is the single top-level aggregation point for the whole federation — the catalog, admin/curation, mirroring, and access/consent tracking all live there.
Where do I start if I'm new to the platform?
The Getting started page is a short, practical walkthrough of the platform as an actual researcher experiences it. If you'd rather click through it live, the homepage also has an interactive product tour.
Something isn't working, or I found a bug — how do I report it?
Use the Contact Us form (Operations → Contact Us, or the same form on the homepage) and choose 'Testing feedback, bug report, request new feature' (or whichever category best matches your enquiry) — most submissions are automatically tracked as a real, referenceable ticket, and the confirmation email includes a direct link back to the same conversation thread, with no account needed to reply.
Accounts & node registration
What's the difference between 'Apply for an account' and 'Register a new node'?
These are two different applications, and it matters which one you want. 'Apply for an account' is for someone who already knows which node they'll be operating (or wants access to gated records) — it asks for a Requested node ID, which is the short, URL-safe identifier of the node you're applying to operate (e.g. a Spoke your institution already runs, or is standing up). 'Register a new node' is for standing up a brand-new node in the federation in the first place — use this first if the node doesn't exist yet. If you're unsure which applies to you, start with Apply; its own form explains the distinction and cross-links to the other one.
My node ID isn't recognized in the federation registry — is that an error?
No — this is a soft, non-blocking hint, not a rejection. You can still submit your account application. It usually just means the node hasn't been registered yet, or hasn't synced up to the Hub yet. If you're setting up a brand-new node for the first time, use Register a new node first; then apply for an account for it.
Access & data requests
What do access tiers (public, regional_researcher, restricted) mean?
An access tier controls who may access a record's raw bytes. public means anyone can download it — no request needed. regional_researcher requires an approved request and may involve an automated identity check against a third-party ABS (Access and Benefit-Sharing) service. restricted always requires an approved request, reviewed by hand, never auto-approved.
Do I need to request access to a public record?
No — a public record needs no access request at all; it's already downloadable directly. The Access requests picker only ever lists non-public (regional_researcher or restricted) records for exactly this reason.
Searching & downloading
What does the 'Copy ID' button next to a record actually copy?
It copies the record's citable ID (e.g. AFDSI-SEQ-42) to your clipboard — a stable, durable local identifier for citing this exact record, not the record's own sequence/structure data. To get the actual data, use the record's own download link (a CSV export, or a direct file link where one is offered) on that record's listing page.
How do I download the actual sequence/structure data, not just metadata?
Each major listing page (Genomes, Proteins, Protein Structures) offers a CSV export with a direct file_url column pointing at the real underlying bytes for each record, alongside its source_repository/source_accession for cross-referencing against the original database it came from (e.g. NCBI/ENA/DDBJ). For bulk/machine-readable access across the whole catalog, see the Darwin Core Archive and DCAT feed links on the Genomes page.
The genome browser is stuck on 'Loading genome browser…' — what do I do?
If it doesn't finish loading within about 15 seconds (common on a slow connection), it now shows a clear error message with a Retry button instead of loading forever. Species and provenance metadata on the page stay fully available either way. If Retry also times out, the record's own assembly file may genuinely not have reached the Hub yet — try again shortly.
I clicked a letter in the A–Z index and got no results — is that broken?
That's expected, not a bug — it means no species currently in the catalog starts with that letter yet. The results area will say so explicitly (e.g. 'No species starting with "Z" yet.') rather than looking like nothing happened.
Is there autocomplete when searching for a species or gene?
Yes — the species search on the homepage, the Genomes page, and the Proteins page all suggest matching names as you type, so you don't need to already know the exact scientific/gene name.
Compute & citing
How do I run a compute search across the Hub and connected nodes?
From Compute requests, you can run a similarity search, a phylogenetic tree build, or (for nodes that offer it) a specific containerized bioinformatics tool — against the Hub's own aggregated holdings and/or any number of real connected nodes at once, in a single submission. The form is fully explorable while logged out; only clicking Submit requires an account.
How do I cite a record from this platform?
Every citable record carries a durable citation id (AFDSI-...) with a one-click copy/BibTeX export — look for the small 'Cite' chip next to a record. This is a stable local identifier, not a registered DOI.