This award will partially fund a workshop to be held at The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, on April 30 through May 3, 1997 on the topic of reconciling existing systems of gene nomenclature. Rapid comparative, multi-species genome mapping and the integration of genetic data derived from various model organisms have become powerful tools in understanding the structure and function of the human genome. These various model organism communities until now have developed independent systems for naming genes which has resulted in an abundance of duplicate names and various other nomenclatural inconsistencies which are especially problematic when genes are compared among species. Accurate gene names are essential for effective communication both in the literature and in online database cross-linking. This workshop will serve as a forum for discussing current nomenclature issues and for the coordination of this information among nomenclature groups for different species. Although the mouse and human nomenclature committees have met formally in the past, this will be the first multi-organism genetic nomenclature workshop. It will bring together approximately 40 scientists representing various species (vertebrates, invertebrates, yeast, and plants), and databases (MGD, GDB, GSDB, EMBL, NCBI) to discuss issues such as 1) developing systematic approaches to nomenclature and symbol assignment across species, 2) improving links between databases, 3) organizing genes into gene families and retrieving family information from databases, 4) fostering working relationships among those involved in nomenclature, and 5) encouraging community curation of gene family designations across species. A summary manuscript will be prepared and submitted for publication in the journal Genomics and for on-line access.
