RAT GENOME DATABASE - RGD - MAPPING DISEASE ONTO THE GENOME
Aubrey Hughes1, Jedediah Mathis2, Mary Shimoyama, Norberto de la Cruz, Charles W. Wang, Nataliya Nenasheva, Dean Pasko, Jiali Chen, Lan Zhao, Chunyu Fan, Wenhua Wu, Chin-Fu Chen, Rajni Nigam, Gopal Gopinathrao, Angela Zuniga-Meyer, Susan Bromberg, Jessica Ginster, Anne Kwitek-Black, Janan Eppig, Lois Maltais, Donna Maglott, Greg Schuler, Simon Twigger, Howard Jacob and Peter Tonellato
1ahughes@mcw.edu, Medical College of Wisconsin; 2jmathis@mcw.edu, Medical College of Wisconsin
RAT GENOME DATABASE - RGD - MAPPING DISEASE ONTO THE GENOME
The Rat Genome Database (RGD, http://rgd.mcw.edu) is a disease centric resource of comprehensive curated data and information from rat genetic and genomic research. The primary focus of RGD is to provide information that will aid researchers in their use of the rat as a model organism for human disease studies. To support this, genetic and genomic resources are constantly added to RGD through literature and bulk dataset curation. RGD includes data on genes, quantitative trait loci (QTL), microsatellite markers and strains used in genetic and genomic research. A new tool, VCMap, is a dynamic sequence-based homology tool that allows researchers to view mapped genes and sequences and their locations in Rat, Mouse and Human. RGD also provides tools for gene prediction, radiation hybrid mapping, polymorphic and marker selection. Future developments include the introduction of curated data related to common diseases studied in the rat. This data will be integrated with the emerging rat genomic sequence and annotation pipelines to provide a disease-centric resource, applicable to human and mouse via tools such as VCMap. RGD also offers a Visiting Scientist program and a web-based Rat Community Forum, for rat researchers and others interested in the rat as an experimental model. RGD is a valuable resource for those working with the rat, and other model organisms who wish to harness rat genetic and physiological data.