Controlling a sea of information

Given the information overload, TAIR principal investigator Sue Rhee and director Eva Huala approached the journal in May of 2007 about the partnership. Now authors publishing in Plant Physiology, a journal of the American Society of Plant Biologists, will enter their own information directly through a specially designed web-interface when their papers are accepted. The new interface went live on February 27th.

“It’s huge for us and plant biologists everywhere,” stated Rhee. “It will increase our data input from this journal from about 25% to 100%.”

The group hopes the partnership will become a model for other disciplines. “We are pleased that TAIR selected us for what we think will be a successful partnership that other biological databases and journals can emulate to increase the flow of information and data dissemination within the research community,” wrote Donald Ort, editor-in-chief, with Aleel Grennan in a journal editorial.

Looking to the future Huala said that “if a few more journals jump on this bandwagon, TAIR could provide complete coverage of all published Arabidopsis data within a few years. Currently only about 27% of articles with data on Arabidopsis genes have had their data extracted.”

For more information on the project see http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/146/3/1022?etoc

*The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) is a database of genetic and molecular data for the model higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which is used to study properties of all plants. The database includes the complete genome sequence, gene structure, metabolism, gene expression, DNA, information about seed stocks, publications, and more for Arabidopsis researchers across the globe. TAIR is located at the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Plant Biology in Stanford, CA, and is funded by the National Science Foundation

**JBEI is one of three DOE funded Bio Energy Research Centers.

The Carnegie Institution (www.CIW.edu) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.