ABSTRACT
WormBase has been the major repository and knowledgebase of information about the genome and genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematodes of experimental interest for over 2 decades. We have 3 goals: to keep current with the fast-paced C. elegans research, to provide better integration with other resources, and to be sustainable. Here, we discuss the current state of WormBase as well as progress and plans for moving core WormBase infrastructure to the Alliance of Genome Resources (the Alliance). As an Alliance member, WormBase will continue to interact with the C. elegans community, develop new features as needed, and curate key information from the literature and large-scale projects.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Animals , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Genomics/methodsABSTRACT
WormBase (www.wormbase.org) is the central repository for the genetics and genomics of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We provide the research community with data and tools to facilitate the use of C. elegans and related nematodes as model organisms for studying human health, development, and many aspects of fundamental biology. Throughout our 22-year history, we have continued to evolve to reflect progress and innovation in the science and technologies involved in the study of C. elegans. We strive to incorporate new data types and richer data sets, and to provide integrated displays and services that avail the knowledge generated by the published nematode genetics literature. Here, we provide a broad overview of the current state of WormBase in terms of data type, curation workflows, analysis, and tools, including exciting new advances for analysis of single-cell data, text mining and visualization, and the new community collaboration forum. Concurrently, we continue the integration and harmonization of infrastructure, processes, and tools with the Alliance of Genome Resources, of which WormBase is a founding member.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis , Nematoda , Animals , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome , Genomics , Humans , Nematoda/geneticsABSTRACT
WormBase (https://wormbase.org/) is a mature Model Organism Information Resource supporting researchers using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for studies across a broad range of basic biological processes. Toward this mission, WormBase efforts are arranged in three primary facets: curation, user interface and architecture. In this update, we describe progress in each of these three areas. In particular, we discuss the status of literature curation and recently added data, detail new features of the web interface and options for users wishing to conduct data mining workflows, and discuss our efforts to build a robust and scalable architecture by leveraging commercial cloud offerings. We conclude with a description of WormBase's role as a founding member of the nascent Alliance of Genome Resources.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genes, Helminth , Animals , Data Mining , Genomics , Internet , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
WormBase ( www.wormbase.org ) provides the nematode research community with a centralized database for information pertaining to nematode genes and genomes. As more nematode genome sequences are becoming available and as richer data sets are published, WormBase strives to maintain updated information, displays, and services to facilitate efficient access to and understanding of the knowledge generated by the published nematode genetics literature. This chapter aims to provide an explanation of how to use basic features of WormBase, new features, and some commonly used tools and data queries. Explanations of the curated data and step-by-step instructions of how to access the data via the WormBase website and available data mining tools are provided.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Genomics , Animals , Computational Biology/methods , Data Mining/methods , Epistasis, Genetic , Gene Ontology , Genes, Helminth , Genomics/methods , Humans , Phenotype , Proteome , Search Engine , Software , Transcriptome , User-Computer Interface , Web BrowserABSTRACT
WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) is an important knowledge resource for biomedical researchers worldwide. To accommodate the ever increasing amount and complexity of research data, WormBase continues to advance its practices on data acquisition, curation and retrieval to most effectively deliver comprehensive knowledge about Caenorhabditis elegans, and genomic information about other nematodes and parasitic flatworms. Recent notable enhancements include user-directed submission of data, such as micropublication; genomic data curation and presentation, including additional genomes and JBrowse, respectively; new query tools, such as SimpleMine, Gene Enrichment Analysis; new data displays, such as the Person Lineage browser and the Summary of Ontology-based Annotations. Anticipating more rapid data growth ahead, WormBase continues the process of migrating to a cutting-edge database technology to achieve better stability, scalability, reproducibility and a faster response time. To better serve the broader research community, WormBase, with five other Model Organism Databases and The Gene Ontology project, have begun to collaborate formally as the Alliance of Genome Resources.
Subject(s)
Databases, Genetic , Genome , Nematoda/genetics , Animals , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Data Curation , Data Mining , Datasets as Topic , Disease Models, Animal , Forecasting , Gene Ontology , Humans , Information Storage and Retrieval , Platyhelminths/genetics , Publishing , RNA Interference , Sequence Alignment , User-Computer Interface , Web BrowserABSTRACT
WormBase (www.wormbase.org) is a central repository for research data on the biology, genetics and genomics of Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematodes. The project has evolved from its original remit to collect and integrate all data for a single species, and now extends to numerous nematodes, ranging from evolutionary comparators of C. elegans to parasitic species that threaten plant, animal and human health. Research activity using C. elegans as a model system is as vibrant as ever, and we have created new tools for community curation in response to the ever-increasing volume and complexity of data. To better allow users to navigate their way through these data, we have made a number of improvements to our main website, including new tools for browsing genomic features and ontology annotations. Finally, we have developed a new portal for parasitic worm genomes. WormBase ParaSite (parasite.wormbase.org) contains all publicly available nematode and platyhelminth annotated genome sequences, and is designed specifically to support helminth genomic research.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Genomics , Nematoda/genetics , Animals , Genes, Helminth , Molecular Sequence Annotation , Platyhelminths/genetics , SoftwareABSTRACT
WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org/) is a highly curated resource dedicated to supporting research using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. With an electronic history predating the World Wide Web, WormBase contains information ranging from the sequence and phenotype of individual alleles to genome-wide studies generated using next-generation sequencing technologies. In recent years, we have expanded the contents to include data on additional nematodes of agricultural and medical significance, bringing the knowledge of C. elegans to bear on these systems and providing support for underserved research communities. Manual curation of the primary literature remains a central focus of the WormBase project, providing users with reliable, up-to-date and highly cross-linked information. In this update, we describe efforts to organize the original atomized and highly contextualized curated data into integrated syntheses of discrete biological topics. Next, we discuss our experiences coping with the vast increase in available genome sequences made possible through next-generation sequencing platforms. Finally, we describe some of the features and tools of the new WormBase Web site that help users better find and explore data of interest.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Animals , Internet , Molecular Sequence Annotation , Nematoda/geneticsABSTRACT
Since its release in 2000, WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) has grown from a small resource focusing on a single species and serving a dedicated research community, to one now spanning 15 species essential to the broader biomedical and agricultural research fields. To enhance the rate of curation, we have automated the identification of key data in the scientific literature and use similar methodology for data extraction. To ease access to the data, we are collaborating with journals to link entities in research publications to their report pages at WormBase. To facilitate discovery, we have added new views of the data, integrated large-scale datasets and expanded descriptions of models for human disease. Finally, we have introduced a dramatic overhaul of the WormBase website for public beta testing. Designed to balance complexity and usability, the new site is species-agnostic, highly customizable, and interactive. Casual users and developers alike will be able to leverage the public RESTful application programming interface (API) to generate custom data mining solutions and extensions to the site. We report on the growth of our database and on our work in keeping pace with the growing demand for data, efforts to anticipate the requirements of users and new collaborations with the larger science community.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Nematoda/genetics , Animals , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans/anatomy & histology , Computer Graphics , Gene Expression Profiling , Genomics , Internet , Molecular Sequence Annotation , PhenotypeABSTRACT
WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) is a central data repository for nematode biology. Initially created as a service to the Caenorhabditis elegans research field, WormBase has evolved into a powerful research tool in its own right. In the past 2 years, we expanded WormBase to include the complete genomic sequence, gene predictions and orthology assignments from a range of related nematodes. This comparative data enrich the C. elegans data with improved gene predictions and a better understanding of gene function. In turn, they bring the wealth of experimental knowledge of C. elegans to other systems of medical and agricultural importance. Here, we describe new species and data types now available at WormBase. In addition, we detail enhancements to our curatorial pipeline and website infrastructure to accommodate new genomes and an extensive user base.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Computational Biology/methods , Databases, Genetic , Databases, Nucleic Acid , Alleles , Animals , Computational Biology/trends , Databases, Protein , Information Storage and Retrieval/methods , Internet , Phenotype , Protein Structure, Tertiary , Software , Transcription FactorsABSTRACT
WormBase (www.wormbase.org) is the major publicly available database of information about Caenorhabditis elegans, an important system for basic biological and biomedical research. Derived from the initial ACeDB database of C. elegans genetic and sequence information, WormBase now includes the genomic, anatomical and functional information about C. elegans, other Caenorhabditis species and other nematodes. As such, it is a crucial resource not only for C. elegans biologists but the larger biomedical and bioinformatics communities. Coverage of core areas of C. elegans biology will allow the biomedical community to make full use of the results of intensive molecular genetic analysis and functional genomic studies of this organism. Improved search and display tools, wider cross-species comparisons and extended ontologies are some of the features that will help scientists extend their research and take advantage of other nematode species genome sequences.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genome, Helminth , Animals , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolism , Chromosome Mapping , Gene Expression , Gene Regulatory Networks , Genes, Helminth , Genomics , Internet , Mass Spectrometry , Peptides/chemistry , Phenotype , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
WormBase (http://wormbase.org), a model organism database for Caenorhabditis elegans and other related nematodes, continues to evolve and expand. Over the past year WormBase has added new data on C.elegans, including data on classical genetics, cell biology and functional genomics; expanded the annotation of closely related nematodes with a new genome browser for Caenorhabditis remanei; and deployed new hardware for stronger performance. Several existing datasets including phenotype descriptions and RNAi experiments have seen a large increase in new content. New datasets such as the C.remanei draft assembly and annotations, the Vancouver Fosmid library and TEC-RED 5' end sites are now available as well. Access to and searching WormBase has become more dependable and flexible via multiple mirror sites and indexing through Google.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Animals , Genes, Helminth , Genome, Helminth , Genomics , Internet , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , Phenotype , RNA Interference , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
WormBase (http://wormbase.org), the public database for genomics and biology of Caenorhabditis elegans, has been restructured for stronger performance and expanded for richer biological content. Performance was improved by accelerating the loading of central data pages such as the omnibus Gene page, by rationalizing internal data structures and software for greater portability, and by making the Genome Browser highly customizable in how it views and exports genomic subsequences. Arbitrarily complex, user-specified queries are now possible through Textpresso (for all available literature) and through WormMart (for most genomic data). Biological content was enriched by reconciling all available cDNA and expressed sequence tag data with gene predictions, clarifying single nucleotide polymorphism and RNAi sites, and summarizing known functions for most genes studied in this organism.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/chemistry , Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Software , Animals , Caenorhabditis elegans/physiology , DNA, Complementary/chemistry , Expressed Sequence Tags/chemistry , Genome, Helminth , Genomics , Internet , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , RNA Interference , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org), the model organism database for information about Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematodes, continues to expand in breadth and depth. Over the past year, WormBase has added multiple large-scale datasets including SAGE, interactome, 3D protein structure datasets and NCBI KOGs. To accommodate this growth, the International WormBase Consortium has improved the user interface by adding new features to aid in navigation, visualization of large-scale datasets, advanced searching and data mining. Internally, we have restructured the database models to rationalize the representation of genes and to prepare the system to accept the genome sequences of three additional Caenorhabditis species over the coming year.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/chemistry , Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Caenorhabditis/genetics , Databases, Genetic , Genomics , Animals , Caenorhabditis/metabolism , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolism , Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/metabolism , Databases, Genetic/trends , Gene Expression Profiling , Protein Conformation , Software , Systems Integration , Two-Hybrid System Techniques , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
In a screen for suppressors of activated GOA-1 (Galpha(o)) under the control of the hsp-16.2 heat-shock promoter, we identified three genetic loci that affected heat-shock-induced GOA-1 expression. The cyl-1 mutants are essentially wild type in appearance, while hsf-1 and sup-45 mutants have egg-laying defects. The hsf-1 mutation also causes a temperature-sensitive developmental arrest, and hsf-1 mutants have decreased life span. Western analysis indicated that mutations in all three loci suppressed the activated GOA-1 transgene by decreasing its expression. Heat-shock-induced expression of hsp-16.2 mRNA was reduced in cyl-1 mutants and virtually eliminated in hsf-1 and sup-45 mutants, as compared to wild-type expression. The mutations could also suppress other transgenes under heat-shock control. cyl-1 and sup-45, but not hsf-1, mutations suppressed a defect caused by a transgene not under heat-shock control, suggesting a role in general transcription or a post-transcriptional aspect of gene expression. hsf-1 encodes the C. elegans homolog of the human heat-shock factor HSF1, and cyl-1 encodes a cyclin most similar to cyclin L. We believe HSF-1 acts in heat-shock-inducible transcription and CYL-1 acts more generally in gene expression.
Subject(s)
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/metabolism , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolism , Cyclins/metabolism , Gene Expression/physiology , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Age Factors , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics , Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics , Cyclins/genetics , Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics , Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism , Humans , Molecular Sequence Data , Mutation , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Sequence Alignment , Transcription Factors/geneticsABSTRACT
WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org/) is the central data repository for information about Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematodes. As a model organism database, WormBase extends beyond the genomic sequence, integrating experimental results with extensively annotated views of the genome. The WormBase Consortium continues to expand the biological scope and utility of WormBase with the inclusion of large-scale genomic analyses, through active data and literature curation, through new analysis and visualization tools, and through refinement of the user interface. Over the past year, the nearly complete genomic sequence and comparative analyses of the closely related species Caenorhabditis briggsae have been integrated into WormBase, including gene predictions, ortholog assignments and a new synteny viewer to display the relationships between the two species. Extensive site-wide refinement of the user interface now provides quick access to the most frequently accessed resources and a consistent browsing experience across the site. Unified single-page views now provide complete summaries of commonly accessed entries like genes. These advances continue to increase the utility of WormBase for C.elegans researchers, as well as for those researchers exploring problems in functional and comparative genomics in the context of a powerful genetic system.