[Biopython] [BioPython] Question about using Entrez.epost

Walter Scheper scheper at email.unc.edu
Wed May 6 11:33:40 EDT 2009


Hey folks,

I'm currently working on a project where we need to download large  
numbers (1000s) of SNPs from NCBI's database. The documentation for  
BioPython tells me I should be using Entrez.epost for this, and then  
using the resulting search history to pull down my snps. However, I  
find that epost itself has a maxium limit to the number of rs Ids I  
can use in a single search, which roughly translates into about 700 rs  
Ids. Is this as intended, or am I not using epost correctly? If I am  
using epost correctly, what's the best way to break this up so that  
(a) I get my data and (b) don't overburden NCBI's system.

Here's how I'm calling epost, mostly this is straight out of the  
tutorial:
     search_results = Entrez.read(Entrez.epost(db='snp', id=id_string))

Thanks for any help,
Walter Scheper



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