ZFIN: The Zebrafish Model Organism Database

描述（由申请人提供）：发现人类基因组中数万个基因的功能是理解人类生物学和疾病的必要步骤。包括斑马鱼在内的遗传模式生物在这一发现过程中发挥着关键作用，因为遗传分析可以将基因序列和功能联系起来。模式生物数据库，如ZFIN，提供了建立这种联系所需的工具。 斑马鱼已经成为一种首要的模式生物，因为强大的技术允许有效地产生和恢复影响发育模式，器官发生，生理和行为的基因的斑马鱼突变。最近的进展使得通过产生转基因斑马鱼或通过用吗啉代反义寡核苷酸敲除基因功能来研究基因功能变得容易。这些基因中的许多基因的功能在脊椎动物群体中是保守的。因此，对斑马鱼突变的分析提供了对其他脊椎动物（包括人类）基因功能的见解。 ZFIN的长期目标是a）成为实验室使用斑马鱼的社区数据库资源，B）开发和支持集成的斑马鱼遗传、基因组、发育和生理信息，c）维护斑马鱼研究信息的权威参考数据集，d）将该信息广泛地链接到其他模式生物和人类数据库中的相应数据，e）促进斑马鱼作为人类生物学模型的使用，以及f）帮助满足生物医学研究界的广泛需求。 该项目将继续并扩大对斑马鱼研究数据的管理，扩大对斑马鱼人类疾病模型的支持，扩大并整合与其他数据库的链接，并加强对搜索，探索和挖掘ZFIN数据的支持。这项工作将为研究人员将基因序列与功能联系起来提供强有力的手段，从而促进人类基因功能和疾病的研究以及基因组组织和进化的跨物种分析。 斑马鱼被广泛用于研究脊椎动物的基因功能，许多人类疾病的斑马鱼模型正在建立中。ZFIN是斑马鱼研究信息的集中数据库，将为识别人类疾病的候选基因和动物模型提供有效手段，这可能缩短识别和理解人类疾病遗传基础的漫长道路。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 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. Zebrafish has emerged as a premiere model organism because powerful techniques allow efficient generation and recovery of zebrafish mutations affecting genes that regulate developmental patterning, organogenesis, physiology, and behavior. Recent advances make it easy to study gene function by generating transgenic zebrafish or by knocking down gene function with morpholino antisense oligonucleotides. The functions of many 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 project will continue and expand curation of zebrafish research data, develop expanded support for zebrafish models of human disease, expand and integrate links to other databases, and develop enhanced support for searching, exploring, and mining ZFIN data. This work will provide a powerful means for researchers to associate gene sequence and function, thus facilitating studies of human gene function and disease as well as cross-species analyses of genome organization and evolution. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Zebrafish are widely used to study vertebrate gene function and many zebrafish models of human diseases are being created. ZFIN is the centralized database of zebrafish research information and will provide efficient means to identify gene candidates and animal models of human disease, which may shorten the lengthy path to identification and understanding of the genetic basis of human disease.