Welcome to SILVA

The software package ARB represents a graphically-oriented, fully-integrated package of cooperating software tools for handling and analysis of sequence information. We use ARB for curation and make our datasets avaliable in ARB format, among others.

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ establishes an integrated suite of scientific databases of fundamental relevance for the life sciences. The databases include BRENDA, SILVA, LPSN, BacDive and TYGS which are developed in a highly coordinated manner. The resulting data platform DSMZ Digital Diversity will provide an integrated resource and will allow to link and comprehensively analyse the different types of scientific data from all domains of life sciences.

SILVA is part of the German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure de.NBI. Help us to improve SILVA and the network by rating our service in the de.NBI survey.

The List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is used during curation of the SILVA taxonomy. SILVA adopted the EukMap application as TaxMap to provide a visual version of LPSN’s taxonomic opinion based on validly published and correct names according to the rules of ICNP. It facilitates the navigation of the prokaryotic taxonomy derived from LPSN's taxonomic perspective. 

RNAcentral is a free, public resource that offers integrated access to a comprehensive and up-to-date set of non-coding RNA sequences provided by a collaborating group of Expert Databases representing a broad range of organisms and RNA types. SILVA is one of the Expert Databases in the consortium.

The SILVA team developed the taxonomic curation platform EukMap as part of the UniEuk project, and continues to maintain it. The UniEuk taxonomy for eukaryotes, which focuses primarily on protists is used as a basis for protists in the SILVA taxonomy.