PARENT SESSION
PW1 - Molecular/ Cellular Toxicology
Wednesday, 20 November 2002
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall

(P722) The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD^TM).

Mattingly, Carolyn^*,1, Colby, Glenn¹, Li, Jiaxin¹, Forbush, Biff², Towle, David¹, Forrest, John², Boyer, James², ¹ Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salsbury Cove, ME, USA² Yale University, New Haven, CT

ABSTRACT- Despite significant advances in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, and toxicogenomics, the mechanisms by which environmental agents impact living organisms are not well understood. To facilitate this understanding, we are developing the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD^TM). This database, initiated by the Mount Desert Island Biological laboratory, will facilitate the comparison of gene sequences and functions between aquatic organisms and humans that will provide novel insights into the interactions between the environment and human health. CTD^TM will be the first community-based, publicly available genomic resource devoted to genes of human toxicological significance. This project is supported by the NIEHS and involves the collaboration of experts in the fields of bioinformatics, computer science, molecular biology, and toxicology. CTD^TM will include: a) genomic information (ontology, family information, gene and protein sequences); b) references; c) toxicants; d) assays (types, results); e) a repository for reagents and associated contact information; f) sequence analysis tools; and g) integration with related databases such as PubMed, GenBank, OMIM and TOXNET. Future additions to CTD^TM will include ESTs and microarray data. The primary goal of this project is to provide the scientific community with a centralized resource to access toxicogenomic data from diverse species and computational tools to analyze this data. In providing this resource, CTD^TM may promote our understanding about the significance of conserved sequences, the genetic basis of variable susceptibility to environmental toxicants, and the complex interactions between the environment and human health. This presentation will discuss the development and scientific content of this database.

Key words: Toxicogenomics, Database, Comparative, Aquatic