Report of the Workshop on Integration of Microbial Databases
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Please contact niels@vitro.cme.msu.edu with any questions or comments you may have.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Goals
3.0 IMD Prototypes Demonstration
4.0 Recommended Activities
4.1 Organization and Administration
4.2 System Design and Implementation
4.3 Data to be Integrated
4.3.1 First Priority Data
a. Nomenclatural Database
b. Phylogenetic Trees
c. Phenotypic Data
4.3.2 Existing Databases
a. Publicly Accessible On-Line Databases
b. Independently Curated, Specific Databases
4.3.3 Databases Needing Development
a. ARDRA
b. Habitat
c. Databases Obtained with Commercial Test Kits or Systems
d. Images
4.3.4 Other Groups Which Have Microbial Strain Data
5.0 Federation Membership and Responsibilities
6.0 Workshop Participants
7.0 Summary
Workshop participants agreed that an Integrated Microbial Database that not only brought together existing (and proposed) microbial databases, but unified them within a phylogenetic context to enable complex querying of the data would be of great benefit to the microbiological and other scientific communities. It was further agreed that the Center for Microbial Ecology is best situated for and should continue to coordinate the effort to develop such a system and that funding for the initiative should be sought. This initiative would be comprised of a consortium (Federation) of participating databases, computer specialists, and user representatives, guided by a steering committee comprised of representatives of each of these three groups. Discussions at the workshop highlighted the fact that the availability of data, and not computer issues, is the most serious obstacle to development.
More information about the integrated database project is available in insights, the CME Newsletter.
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