International guidelines for genome databases

The Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC), an international organisation including representatives from a range of major sequencing and bioinformatics centres, has created a new guideline for describing genomes and metagenomes.

Titled ‘Minimum Information about a Genome Sequence’ (MIGS), the guideline is published in the May issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology.

The guideline is one of a number of emerging minimum information standards. Increased use of ultra-high-throughput sequencing technologies has led to the increased pace and variety of genomic and metagenomic sequencing projects, making common standards increasingly vital to scientific progress as international groups look to share their data.

What sets the MIGS apart, according to its authors, is its relative simplicity.

“MIGS is relatively easy to complete compared to other MI standards that are emerging,” said lead author and founding member of the GSC, Dr Dawn Field of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

“There is great enthusiasm in the community for this project and we are already collecting MIGS-compliant reports.”

The GSC started the project to remedy the lack of descriptive information currently attached to genome and metagenome sequences in public databases.

“The MIGS specification comprises lightweight standard set descriptors that are applicable to all genome and metagenome sequences,” said Prof George Garrity, Michigan State University, USA, a co-author on the paper.

“The addition of this key information greatly enhances the value of the growing body of sequence data by making it more generally accessible and interoperable, at minimal cost to annotators and data curators.”

According to co-author Prof Frank Gloeckner, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, the lack of vital information in genome databases was particularly true for environmental samples — which are amassing at an astounding pace.

“We have worked now for more than seven years in the field of marine environmental genomics. The MIGS specifications and standards will be a major step forward in discovering the secrets hidden in the genes of our environmental microorganisms,” he said.