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Storage and retrieval of microarray data and open source microarray database software

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Abstract

Microarray technology has been widely adopted by researchers who use both home-made microarrays and microarrays purchased from commercial vendors. Associated with the adoption of this technology has been a deluge of complex data, both from the microarrays themselves, and also in the form of associated meta data, such as gene annotation information, the properties and treatment of biological samples, and the data transformation and analysis steps taken downstream. In addition, standards for annotation and data exchange have been proposed, and are now being adopted by journals and funding agencies alike. The coupling of large quantities of complex data with extensive and complex standards require all but the most small-scale of microarray users to have access to a robust and scaleable database with various tools. In this review, we discuss some of the desirable properties of such a database, and look at the features of several freely available alternatives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Stanford University Medical School, 300 Pasteur Drive, 94305-5120, Stanford, CA

    Gavin Sherlock

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA

    Catherine A. Ball

Authors
  1. Gavin Sherlock
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  2. Catherine A. Ball
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Correspondence to Gavin Sherlock.

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Sherlock, G., Ball, C.A. Storage and retrieval of microarray data and open source microarray database software. Mol Biotechnol 30, 239–251 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1385/MB:30:3:239

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