Mouse Genome Database (MGD): A Core Knowledge Resource for Functional Characterization of the Human Genome

NIH RePORTER · NIH · U24 · $3,415,011 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY As the cost of genome-scale sequencing continues to decrease and new technologies for genome editing become widely adopted, the laboratory mouse is more important than ever as a model system for understanding the biological significance of human genetic variation and for advancing the emergence of genomic medicine. The Mouse Genome Database (MGD) has a unique and strategic role as a community resource for facilitating the use of the laboratory mouse for understanding genomics underlying human biology and disease. MGD serves three major user communities: (i) biomedical researchers who use mouse experimentation to investigate genetic and molecular principles of biology and disease processes, (ii) translational scientists who use the laboratory mouse to model human disease, and (iii) bioinformaticians/ computational biologists who use the rich integrated data MGD provides to develop algorithms and bioinformatics tools for data analysis and interpretation. During the project period, we will continue to curate and integrate new genetic, genomic, variant, functional, phenotypic, and human disease model data essential to researchers using the laboratory mouse in biomedical research. We will make these data freely available through a variety of web-based and programmatic user interfaces. Our core aims include: (i) maintaining the canonical catalog of mouse genome features, (ii) serving as the authoritative data for mouse functional annotations, and (iii) maintaining a comprehensive catalog of mouse mutations and strains and their phenotype and disease model associations. To support our aims, we will maintain cost-effective software, database, and hardware using industry best practices. We will maintain MGD's secure infrastructure through regular maintenance, upgrades, and planned evolution. We will leverage existing software components from the Alliance of Genome Resources and other resources where possible and focus our software development activities on unique infrastructure needed to support our core aims. To ensure the greatest impact of MGD in the broader scientific community, we will provide robust user support and outreach through online user documentation, tutorials, training workshops, and one-on-one assistance using a variety of communication modalities and major social media tools. We will actively solicit community input, data submissions, and collaborations.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10088829
Project number
2U24HG000330-33
Recipient
JACKSON LABORATORY
Principal Investigator
CAROL J BULT
Activity code
U24
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2021
Award amount
$3,415,011
Award type
2
Project period
1997-07-01 → 2026-01-31