# Resource Informatics and Production Core

> **NIH NIH U41** · UNIVERSITY OF OREGON · 2020 · $1,192,153

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Resource Informatics and Production Core
Discovering the functions of the tens of thousands of genes in the human genome is a required step for
understanding human biology and disease. Genetic model organisms, including zebrafish, play a
critical role in this discovery process, because genetic analysis can connect gene sequence and
function. Model organism databases, like ZFIN, provide tools required to make this connection.
 The zebrafish has emerged as a premier organism to study vertebrate biology. Powerful
techniques allow rapid efficient generation and recovery of mutations affecting genes that orchestrate
developmental patterning, organogenesis, physiology, and behavior. It is easy to study gene function
by generating transgenic zebrafish, by knocking down gene function with morpholino antisense
oligonucleotides, or by altering gene function by genome editing. The genome has been sequenced
and about 50% of the protein coding genes have been mutated by targeted gene knockout technology.
Large-scale projects are underway or planned that will produce functional data about almost all the
genes and sequence-based functional elements in the genome. Multiple mutations and gene
knockdowns can be combined in the same individual to study gene modifiers and other genetic
interactions. The functions of most of these genes are conserved among vertebrate groups. Thus,
analysis of zebrafish mutations provides insights into gene functions in other vertebrates, including
humans.
 The long term goals for ZFIN are a) to be the community database resource for the laboratory use
of zebrafish, b) to develop and support integrated zebrafish genetic, genomic, developmental, and
physiological information, c) to maintain the definitive reference data sets of zebrafish research
information, d) to link this information extensively to corresponding data in other model organism and
human databases, e) to facilitate the use of zebrafish as a model for human biology, and f) to help
serve the broad needs of the biomedical research community.
 This core will make ZFIN data widely accessible. We will continue to make the entire ZFIN
database publically available, including bulk downloads, processing, and analysis. We will develop the
infrastructure necessary to annotate the genome and make it available through Ensembl, UCSC, NCBI,
ZFIN, and other browsers. We will develop and improve curator interfaces to improve the efficiency of
curation, and we will migrate the ZFIN database server platform from Informix to PostgreSQL.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9884804
- **Project number:** 5U41HG002659-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne Eagle
- **Activity code:** U41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,192,153
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9884804

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9884804, Resource Informatics and Production Core (5U41HG002659-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9884804. Licensed CC0.

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