This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. A major responsibility of this core is database management and analysis of microarray data, coordinated with the INBRE Microarray Core (at OMRF) and the satellite bioinformatics cores located on the OU Norman, OSU and UT campuses. Our efforts are directed towards integrating the activities of these groups into a coherent whole. A fundamental tool for these efforts will be the periodic meeting of the bioinformatics personnel from each of the campuses, a successful strategy originally begun in the Oklahoma BRIN. We promote the use of common tools using the MIAMI and MAGE standards, and act as a central data repository for submission to the NCBI GEO; MAGE is essential for this effort. The Oklahoma Re-Annotation (OKRA) Project. The focus of the OKRA project will be to engage undergraduate students in re-annotation of microbial genome sequence databases. Currently, one of the most vexing problems in microbial genomics is the paucity of ongoing curation of the existing microbial genome sequence databases. Funding agencies have typically been reluctant to devote resources to curation or re-annotation, and updating these databases has generally been haphazard and non-uniform. Further, re-annotation typically involves considerable effort but little academic reward (a disincentive). We are using microbial genome sequence re-annotation to introduce Oklahoma undergraduate students to bioinformatic analyses of genome sequence data, and update and enhance the annotation of existing microbial genome sequence databases. Communication. An obvious need fulfilled by the Bioinformatics Core is better intercampus communication. We disseminate information widely concerning core facility activities. We publish a quarterly newsletter and host a website (http://microgen.ouhsc.edu). We have implemented the Oklahoma Bioinformatics User?s Group (OBUG), with a website (http://obug.ouhsc.edu/) that we intend to be a clearinghouse for bioinformatics exchanges in Oklahoma. Communication on microarray database commonality and interoperability and other issues are a concern. Therefore, we want this users group to be a place where experts and novices alike will come to discuss bioinformatics problems, ideas, and solutions, post things like tutorials and book reviews, and generally share information. Lastly, the Bioinformatics Core sponsors the Genomics/Proteomics/Bioinformatics Discussion Group that began under the auspices of the Oklahoma BRIN.
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