Extensive bioinformatic support is being provided to facilitate management and interpretation of data from gene and protein expression profiling and positional cloning, as described in the WPs. A bioinformatic platform is being developed to integrate the expression data generated within the consortium with public domain data. Cell type specific genes are identified in a classification procedure based on profile similarity with user provided reference genes. Major challenges include annotation of gene identities and weighting of different data types. Classification methods span from statistical methods such as Pearson correlation and logistic regression to more complex computational methods such as decision trees and support vector machines. The platform supports identification of cell type specific genes for functional evaluation, and modules of co-expressed genes that provide entry points for gene regulation studies.

Participating consortium partners: