Bioinformatic Analysis of Ovarian Genes Using an Ovary-Specific Database

This chapter focuses on bioinformatic analysis of ovarian genes using an ovary-specific database. The embryonic development of the ovary, the cyclic fluctuation of ovarian hormonal production throughout life, and the tight control of follicle maturation, ovulation, and luteinization are regulated by the many genes expressed in the ovary. A sorted and organized arrangement of the accumulating literature and gene sequence information would facilitate innovative research in ovarian physiology. The arrangement of this rapidly expanding data into a categorized searchable database has become a prerequisite for the efficient analysis and understanding of whole organ systems. In September 1999, the Ovarian Kaleidoscope database (OKdb) at http://ovary.stanford.edu/ was launched as a unified online gateway to store, search, review, and update information about genes expressed in the ovary. The infrastructure of the OKdb was designed to allow searches based on biological function, expression pattern, mutant phenotypes, cellular localization, and hormonal regulation of ovarian genes. The basic structural unit of the OKdb is the single gene page. Each gene page in the OKdb links to other online databases including the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) at www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/Omim/ and publications in PubMed that are relevant to individual genes.