Augmented annotation and orthologue analysis for Oryctolagus cuniculus: Better Bunny

作者：Craig Douglas B; Kannan Sujatha; Dombkowski Alan A^*

来源：BMC Bioinformatics, 2012, 13: 84.

DOI：10.1186/1471-2105-13-84

• Rabbit
• Genome
• Annotation
• Orthologue
• Microarray
• Functional analysis

Background: The rabbit is an important model organism used in a wide range of biomedical research. However, the rabbit genome is still sparsely annotated, thus prohibiting extensive functional analysis of gene sets derived from whole-genome experiments. We developed a web-based application that provides augmented annotation and orthologue analysis for rabbit genes. Importantly, the application allows comprehensive functional analysis through the use of orthologous relationships. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: Using data extracted from several public bioinformatics repositories we created Better Bunny, a database and query tool that extensively augments the available functional annotation for rabbit genes. Using the complete set of target genes from a commercial rabbit gene expression microarray as our benchmark, we are able to obtain functional information for 88 % of the genes on the microarray. Previously, functional information was available for fewer than 10 % of the rabbit genes. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: We have developed a freely available, web-accessible bioinformatics tool that enables investigators to quickly and easily perform extensive functional analysis of rabbit genes (http://cptweb.cpt.wayne.edu). The software application fills a critical void for a wide range of biomedical research that relies on the rabbit model and requires characterization of biological function for large sets of genes.

• 出版日期2012-5-8