MaizeDB - a functional genomics perspective.

MaizeDB (http://www.agron.missouri.

Anchoring 9,371 maize expressed sequence tagged unigenes to the bacterial artificial chromosome contig map by two-dimensional overgo hybridization.

Our goal is to construct a robust physical map for maize (Zea mays) comprehensively integrated with the genetic map. We have used a two-dimensional 24 x 24 overgo pooling strategy to anchor maize expressed sequence tagged (EST) unigenes to 165,888 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) on high-density filters. A set of 70,716 public maize ESTs seeded derivation of 10,723 EST unigene assemblies.

MaizeGDB, the community database for maize genetics and genomics.

The Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (MaizeGDB) is a central repository for maize sequence, stock, phenotype, genotypic and karyotypic variation, and chromosomal mapping data. In addition, MaizeGDB provides contact information for over 2400 maize cooperative researchers, facilitating interactions between members of the rapidly expanding maize community. MaizeGDB represents the synthesis of all data available previously from ZmDB and from MaizeDB-databases that have been superseded by MaizeGDB.

Zea mays ontology--a database of international terms.

Data retrieval, comprehension and sharing within and between plant-based databases are essential to exploit comparative genomic information to elucidate functional aspects of plant biology and to conduct studies of synteny and homology. However, the functionality is often hampered by the variability of terms used to describe comparable objects. The Zea mays Plant Structure Ontology database is designed to overcome this problem via the provision of a controlled vocabulary that facilitates knowledge sharing.

Whither biological database research?

We consider how the landscape of biological databases may evolve in the future, and what research is needed to realize this evolution. We suggest today's dispersal of diverse resources will only increase as the number and size of those resources, driving the need for semantic interoperability even more strongly. Because the complexity of the questions biologists want answered automatically continues to rapidly escalate, we will need to draw upon high-performance computing resources such as the GRID to process complex queries.

Characterization of three maize bacterial artificial chromosome libraries toward anchoring of the physical map to the genetic map using high-density bacterial artificial chromosome filter hybridization.

Three maize (Zea mays) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries were constructed from inbred line B73. High-density filter sets from all three libraries, made using different restriction enzymes (HindIII, EcoRI, and MboI, respectively), were evaluated with a set of complex probes including the 185-bp knob repeat, ribosomal DNA, two telomere-associated repeat sequences, four centromere repeats, the mitochondrial genome, a multifragment chloroplast DNA probe, and bacteriophage lambda. The results indicate that the libraries are of high quality with low contamination by organellar and lambda-sequences.