The Candida Genome Database (CGD) team is currently developing a database containing comprehensive annotated information about the genome of the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. CGD reuses the database structures and software that have been succesfully developed for the Saccharomyces Genome Database, and has modified them where appropriate to accommodate the differences between C. albicans and S. cerevisiae. CGD has become a critical resource for the Candida research community, being used on a daily basis by experimental researchers, and has been accessed more than 100,000 times in the 10 months that it has been online. This application seeks to expand the mission of CGD to fulfill timely and critical needs of the Candida research community by incorporating three additional aims into the project. First, we will facilitate comparative genomics analyses among fungal species that are closely related to C. albicans by incorporating the sequences of these organisms, providing tools, and curating the relevant experimental literature. Second, we will enable researchers to easily find literature that is germane to their research by incorporating the full-text searching tool Textpresso and by extending our curation paradigm to categorize papers by their relevance to topics broader than single genes or proteins, for example, biological processes or pathways. Third, we will provide visual displays of the C. albicans metabolic network by using the Pathways Tools software to assign gene products to functions within metabolic pathways and by curating the experimental literature concerning C. albicans metabolism.
These aims have been developed in response to, and in consultation with, the Candida research community, as evidenced by the numerous letters of support that we have received from prominent Candida researchers. Adopting these new aims will enable CGD to have a greater impact on Candida research and thus positively impact human health. ? ? ?
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