GeneLynx mouse: integrated portal to the mouse genome

GeneLynx Mouse is a meta-database providing an extensive collection of hyperlinks to mouse gene-specific information in diverse databases available via the Internet. The GeneLynx project is based on the simple notion that given any gene-specific identifier (e.g., accession number, gene name, text, or sequence), scientists should be able to access a single location that provides a set of links to all the publicly available information pertinent to the specified gene. The recent climax in the mouse genome and RIKEN cDNA sequencing projects provided the data necessary for the development of a gene-centric mouse information portal based on the GeneLynx ideals. Clusters of RIKEN cDNA sequences were used to define the initial set of mouse genes. Like its human counterpart, GeneLynx Mouse is designed as an extensible relational database with an intuitive and user-friendly Web interface. Data is automatically extracted from diverse resources, using appropriate approaches to maximize the coverage. To promote cross-database interoperability, an indexing utility is provided to facilitate the establishment of hyperlinks in external databases. As a result of the integration of the human and mouse systems, GeneLynx now serves as a powerful comparative genomics data mining resource. GeneLynx Mouse can be freely accessed at http://mouse.genelynx.org.