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Cross-linking BioThings APIs through JSON-LD to facilitate knowledge exploration
Jiwen Xin1, Cyrus Afrasiabi1, Sebastien Lelong1
1Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
BMC Bioinformatics
|February 3, 2018
Summary
This study enhances biological data sharing by implementing JSON for Linking Data (JSON-LD) on BioThings APIs. This improves interoperability and enables more precise, integrated queries across different biological data resources.
Area of Science:
- Life Sciences
- Bioinformatics
- Data Interoperability
Background:
- Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are crucial for distributing biological data.
- Many biological APIs use Javascript Object Notation (JSON) as their data format.
- A common data format alone is insufficient for comprehensive cross-API data integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance interoperability between biological APIs.
- To enable richer, more integrated queries across disparate biological datasets.
- To provide a generalizable solution for API integration in life sciences.
Main Methods:
- Implemented JSON for Linking Data (JSON-LD) technology on the BioThings APIs (MyGene.info, MyVariant.info, MyChem.info).
- Applied semantic annotations to existing JSON data structures.
- Demonstrated use cases facilitated by JSON-LD semantic annotations.
Main Results:
- JSON-LD enhances interoperability by adding semantic context to JSON data.
- Enabled simpler and more precise query capabilities across APIs.
- Facilitated API cross-linking and data integration.
Conclusions:
- The implemented JSON-LD pattern offers a generalizable solution for improving API interoperability in the life sciences.
- Semantic enrichment of biological data through JSON-LD is key for advanced data integration.
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