appris

APPRIS is a bioinformatics resource that provides annotations of principal transcripts for vertebrate genomes. It aims to identify a single principal or canonical isoform for each gene by integrating multiple features that reflect biological importance, including cross-species conservation, protein structure, functional domains, and transcript evidence.

The project compiles data using a modular scoring system that evaluates each transcript against several criteria. The principal transcript is designated based on this integrated score, while other transcript variants are labeled as alternative isoforms with additional annotations. APPRIS data are widely used to standardize transcript definitions across species and genome releases, and are incorporated into major annotation pipelines such as Ensembl and, to varying extents, the UCSC Genome Browser.

APPRIS data products include principal isoform annotations, transcript-level scores, and downloadable datasets that accompany genome assemblies. These resources support researchers in transcript-focused analyses, including variant effect interpretation, proteomics, and cross-species comparisons, by providing a consistent reference transcript set. The project is maintained through collaborative efforts and regularly updated to align with new genome assemblies and annotation releases.

In addition to this resource, appris is also the past participle of apprendre in French, meaning “learned.” It is used in compound tenses and agrees with gender and number in certain constructions.