The iHUB: A Collaborative International Network for Ionomics

普渡大学获得了一笔拨款，用于开发ionomicHUB (iHUB)，这是一个国际合作的网络研究环境，旨在提高我们识别和理解基因和基因网络的能力，这些基因和基因网络控制着生物或组织的离子素、矿物质营养物质和微量元素组成。iHUB是一个协作工作空间，其组件集成了网络基础设施和人类交互，以最大限度地提高社区对经济资源的访问，并从这些资源中提取知识。具体来说,iHUB项目将提供(1)工具,允许简单的共享和注释的数据,(2)LitCloud:一个工具,允许简单的过滤和文献的共享,(3)工具,允许协调ionomics分布式站点的数据的集合,(4)工具,允许简单的共享演示和讲座,(5)工具允许自我形成的在线工作组织和沟通能力,(6)iHUB互动地图(iHUB interactome)和(7)在线帮助工具。iHUB将建立在现有的公共i经济学数据库（www.ionomicshub.org）上，该数据库目前包含包括拟南芥、水稻和酿酒酵母在内的20多万个样本的i经济学数据。为了确保iHUB与社区的整合，我们还计划了研讨会和科学家交流。这些iHUB功能将有助于弥合高通量生成基因组学数据与在基因组和比较基因组规模上有效探测基因功能之间日益扩大的差距。iHUB将促进开放的沟通和信息交流，并将降低进入i经济学领域的门槛，使来自发达国家和发展中国家的各种研究人员能够参与推进该领域的发展。从提高作物产量、加强农业可持续性和改善食品质量以促进人类营养的角度来看，iHUB促进的发现所获得的信息将是有价值的。

Purdue University is awarded a grant to develop ionomicHUB (iHUB), an international collaborative cyber research environment to enhance our ability to identify and understand the genes and gene networks that function to control the ionome, the mineral nutrient and trace element composition of an organism or tissue. The iHUB is a collaborative workspace with components that integrate both cyberinfrastructure and human interactions to maximize both community access to ionomic resources, and knowledge extraction from these resources. Specifically, the iHUB project will deliver (1) tools to allow the easy sharing and annotation of data, (2) the LitCloud: A tool to allow the easy filtering and sharing of literature, (3) tools to allow the coordinated collection of ionomics data from distributed sites, (4) tools to allow the easy sharing of presentations and lectures, (5) tools to allow the self formation of online work groups and communication, (6) the iHUB interaction map (iHUB interactome), and (7) on-line help tools. The iHUB will be founded on the existing public ionomics database (www.ionomicshub.org) which currently contains ionomic data on over 200,000 samples, including Arabidopsis thaliana, rice and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To ensure integration of the iHUB with the community we also plan workshops and scientist exchanges.These iHUB functionalities will help bridge the growing gap between the high-throughput generation of ionomic data and the efficient probing of gene function on a genomic and comparative genomic scale. The iHUB will facilitate open communication and exchange of information, and will lower the barrier for entry into the field of ionomics, allowing a diverse set of researchers from developed and developing nations to participate in advancing the field. The information obtained from the discoveries facilitated by the iHUB will be valuable from the point of view of improving crop yields, enhancing agricultural sustainability, and improving food quality for human nutrition.