Repbase

Repbase, also known as Repbase Update, is a database of representative repetitive sequences from eukaryotic species. Repbase is being used worldwide as the reference standard for annotating the presence of repetitive DNA in genomic data. In addition to Repbase, GIRI publishes Repbase Reports, a monthly e-journal that reports newly identified repetitive DNA elements, which are subsequently stored and shared in Repbase. 

• The largest collection of eukaryotic transposons and repetitive sequences
• Includes over 44,000 sequences (mostly family consensus) and continues to grow
• Covers over a hundred model organisms and species of interest including animals, plants and fungi
• Subject to extensive manual curation and ongoing updates with the aim of recovering all repeat families in each
species
• Sequences are systematically classified according to the nature of the repeats
• Essential for well-known tools such as CENSOR, RepeatMasker, REPET
• Recognized and used as a standard around the world

How is Repbase used to produce a repeat-masked genome?
Tools such as CENSOR and RepeatMasker use a library of repeats drawn from Repbase to recognize and mask repeat sequences. As Repbase is enhanced with more repeat sequences the ability to accurately recognize, identify and mask repeats improves.