Mouse Genome Database (MGD): Knowledgebase for mouse–human comparative biology

TLDR

The Mouse Genome Database (MGD) is the authoritative community knowledgebase for the laboratory mouse, providing comprehensive biological reference data, official gene and strain nomenclature, and serving as a primary resource for comparative studies of human health and disease. This report details significant enhancements to MGD’s content and interfaces, including expanded strain coverage, improved Multi Genome Viewer, integrated variant data, streamlined curation, and a new portal for mouse models and genes relevant to COVID‑19. MGD’s biocuration team extracts data from biomedical literature and investigator‑contributed datasets, and the database incorporates these through updated interfaces such as the Multi Genome Viewer, expanded strain pages, variant integration, and a COVID‑19 focused information portal.

Abstract

The Mouse Genome Database (MGD; http://www.informatics.jax.org) is the community model organism knowledgebase for the laboratory mouse, a widely used animal model for comparative studies of the genetic and genomic basis for human health and disease. MGD is the authoritative source for biological reference data related to mouse genes, gene functions, phenotypes and mouse models of human disease. MGD is the primary source for official gene, allele, and mouse strain nomenclature based on the guidelines set by the International Committee on Standardized Nomenclature for Mice. MGD's biocuration scientists curate information from the biomedical literature and from large and small datasets contributed directly by investigators. In this report we describe significant enhancements to the content and interfaces at MGD, including (i) improvements in the Multi Genome Viewer for exploring the genomes of multiple mouse strains, (ii) inclusion of many more mouse strains and new mouse strain pages with extended query options and (iii) integration of extensive data about mouse strain variants. We also describe improvements to the efficiency of literature curation processes and the implementation of an information portal focused on mouse models and genes for the study of COVID-19.