SIGNOR 2.0, the SIGnaling Network Open Resource 2.0: 2019 update

Area of Science:

• * Molecular Biology
• * Bioinformatics
• * Systems Biology

Background:

• * The Signaling Network Open Resource (SIGNOR) is a public repository for biological signaling information.
• * Previous versions have facilitated research by storing causal relationships between biological entities.
• * Continuous updates are necessary to reflect the growing body of signaling pathway knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To describe the significant content expansion and improvements in SIGNOR 2.0.
• * To introduce a new confidence score for curated interactions.
• * To enhance data accessibility and compliance with FAIR data principles.

Main Methods:

• * Manual curation of signaling information, focusing on binary causal relationships.
• * Representation of signaling pathways as signed directed graphs.
• * Implementation of stable identifiers, REST APIs, and standard-compliant data formats (PSI-MI CausalTAB, GMT).

Main Results:

• * SIGNOR 2.0 now stores approximately 23,000 manually annotated causal relationships.
• * A new confidence score has been implemented for each interaction.
• * Improved compliance with FAIR data principles, including programmatic access and standardized downloadable formats.

Conclusions:

• * SIGNOR 2.0 represents a substantial expansion of curated signaling data.
• * Enhanced data accessibility and a new confidence score improve the resource's utility.
• * The updated SIGNOR facilitates more robust systems biology research and data integration.