ZFIN: The Zebrafish Model Organism Database

 描述(申请人提供)：发现人类基因组中数以万计的基因的功能是了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了关键作用，因为遗传分析可以将基因序列和功能联系起来。像ZFIN这样的生物模型数据库提供了建立这种联系所需的工具。 斑马鱼已经成为研究脊椎动物生物学的首要生物。强大的技术可以快速有效地产生和恢复影响基因的突变，这些基因协调着发育模式、器官发生、生理和行为。通过培育转基因斑马鱼、用吗啉反义寡核苷酸降低基因功能、或通过基因组编辑改变基因功能，可以很容易地研究基因功能。基因组已经测序，通过靶向基因敲除技术，大约50%的蛋白质编码基因发生了突变。正在进行或计划进行的大规模项目将产生关于基因组中几乎所有基因和基于序列的功能元件的功能数据。多个突变和基因敲除可以在同一个个体中结合起来，以研究基因修饰物和其他遗传相互作用。这些基因中的大多数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包括人类在内的其他脊椎动物基因功能的洞察。 ZFIN的长期目标是a)成为斑马鱼实验室使用的社区数据库资源，b)开发和支持斑马鱼遗传、基因组、发育和生理的综合信息，c)维护斑马鱼研究信息的明确参考数据集，d)将这些信息广泛地与其他模式生物和人体数据库中的相应数据联系起来，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。该项目将继续和扩大斑马鱼研究数据的整理，扩大对人类疾病斑马鱼模型的支持，扩大和整合与其他数据库的链接，以及维护和更新斑马鱼参考基因组。这项工作将为研究人员将基因序列和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。

 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. The zebrafish has emerged as a premier organism to study vertebrate biology. Powerful techniques allow rapid efficient generation and recovery of mutations affecting genes that orchestrate developmental patterning, organogenesis, physiology, and behavior. It is easy to study gene function by generating transgenic zebrafish, by knocking down gene function with morpholino antisense oligonucleotides, or by altering gene function by genome editing. The genome has been sequenced and about 50% of the protein coding genes have been mutated by targeted gene knockout technology. Large-scale projects are underway or planned that will produce functional data about almost all the genes and sequence-based functional elements in the genome. Multiple mutations and gene knockdowns can be combined in the same individual to study gene modifiers and other genetic interactions. The functions of most 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 maintain and update the zebrafish reference genome. 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.