$ perl -w -MData::Dumper -E'%h = map {if(/(.+)\s+\|\s+(.+)/){$1=>$2}else{()}} (<>); print Dumper \%h' Q6GZX4 | PF04947.9 Q96355 | PF01486.12 PF00319.13 Q96356 | PF01486.12 PF00319.13 Q39371 | PF01486.12 PF00319.13 DSFSDF ASD SSSSSSSSSS ^D $VAR1 = { 'Q96355' => 'PF01486.12 PF00319.13', 'Q96356' => 'PF01486.12 PF00319.13', 'Q6GZX4' => 'PF04947.9', 'Q39371' => 'PF01486.12 PF00319.13' };