Core 2: Bioinformatics

生物信息学核心作为VCU酒精研究中心(ARC)所有项目的支持网络 并将与每个组件密切交互，以提供计算、统计和研究设计 专业知识。核心将在数据收集、整理、管理、存储和 分析。因此，我们将首先收集和管理与项目相关的数据，包括由VCUARC生成的数据 以及从其他外部来源获得的那些。这些内部和外部数据的示例 包括人类连锁和关联研究、小鼠数量性状基因座(QTL)、微阵列数据、苍蝇和 蠕虫候选基因网络和文献搜索。收集的数据将通过数据集成 管理系统，并通过计算机程序定期更新。许多数据挖掘和生物信息学 将进行分析以识别易感基因，包括跨物种同源性。 搜索和基因网络分析。核心还将开发、实现和改进 为进一步的研究确定基因的优先顺序。最后，展望我们未来的酒精研究计划 中心应用程序(P50或P60)，我们将设计并部分实现一个用户友好的基于Web的平台。 该平台将提供(1)同时访问项目中产生的数据和某些公众 基因组数据库和(2)用于统计分析和数据呈现的工具。该系统将被开发出来 作为“乙醇基因组学”的原型--酒精相关基因的综合跨物种系统 回应。促进数据共享和新兴方法应用的总体目标将是 加快对酒精相关特征的理解。

The Bioinformatics Core serves as a support network for all VCU Alcohol Research Center (ARC) projects and will interact closely with each component to provide computational, statistical, and research design expertise. The core will play a central role in the data collection, curation, management, storage, and analysis. As such, we will first collect and curate project related data including those generated by the VCUARC and those that are available from other outside sources. Examples of these internal and external data include human linkage and association studies, mouse quantitative trait loci (QTL), microarray data, fly and worm candidate gene networks, and literature searches. The collected data will be integrated via a data management system and updated routinely by computer programs. Many data mining and bioinformatics analyses will be performed for the identification of susceptibility genes, including cross-species homology searches and gene network analysis. The core will also develop, implement, and refine methods for prioritizing genes for additional study. Finally, in anticipation of our future plans for a full Alcohol Research Center application (P50 or P60), we will design and partially implement a user-friendly web-based platform. This platform will provide (1) simultaneous access to the data generated in the projects and to certain public genomic databases and (2) tools for statistical analysis and data presentation. The system will be developed as a prototype for 'Ethanolomics' - a comprehensive cross-species system for genes involved in alcohol response. The overall goal of facilitating data sharing and the application of emerging methods will be to accelerate the understanding of alcohol related traits.