The Microbial Information System (MICRO-IS) is an ongoing project to enter, retrieve, and analyze microbiological data for epidemiological, diagnostic, taxonomic, ecological, and regulatory uses. The long term goal is to establish a worldwide data network at a series of cooperating centers. A mainframe version of the MICRO-IS is currently used extensively for management and analysis of strain data by the MSS and also by the FDA and EPA their regulatory roles. The latest thrust of this effort is development of a portable version of the MICRO-IS for installation on a wide range of computers including personal computers, minicomputers, and mainframes. This version is now being distributed and accepted on a worldwide basis. The specifications (table structures) have been developed for transforming the data of the Hybridoma Data Bank into a relational model for ease of global editing and making special kinds of reports. A program for conversion of controlled vocabulary information in text records of the HDB into the relational database has been implemented by the MSS in collaboration with the HDB staff. The conversion of the HDB from flat files to the relational model is ongoing. A related project is the development of techniques for format analysis and standardization of text images obtained by direct input of microbiological laboratory notebook information. A pilot project has been initiated to capture the phenotypic strain descriptions from the archival records of the VPI Anaerobe Laboratory.
