September 15, 2012 (Vol. 32, No. 16)
Rating:
Strong Points: Nice site design, many ways to search database
Weak Points: Almost all of the “help” links are nonfunctional
Summary:
Move over, Drosophila—you’re not the only “hot” insect model in biology anymore! In recent years, Anopheles has also flown onto the scene (you probably know these little blood-suckers better as the annoying insects that leave itchy bumps on your skin). Addressing the boom in both Drosophila and Anopheles genomics, FlyMine was created to provide an integrated database for fruit fly and mosquito genomics resources. (And for the aficionados out there—yes, mosquitoes are technically flies, as they belong to the insect order Diptera. However, information for other species is also included in the database, so the term “FlyMine” is actually being a bit over-extended.) FlyMine brings together genome annotation and gene model information from over 30 data sources, including FlyBase, KEGG, Ensembl, and Uniprot. Users can search the FlyMine database using basically any type of keyword one wishes—this can include gene name, pathway, ontology terms, etc. One can also create an account to save their queries and lists.