Avian Immunome DB

Avian Immunome DB maps and organizes avian immune genes to provide canonical gene symbols, curated annotations, and sequence data for comparative and functional genomics of avian immunity.

Key Features:

• Extensive Gene Database: Contains 1170 distinct avian immune genes with canonical gene symbols and 612 synonyms across 363 bird species.
• Comprehensive Annotations: Includes transcript isoforms, nucleotide sequences, protein information and amino acid sequences with annotations sourced from Gene Ontology, Ensembl, UniProt, and the B10K consortium.
• Ambiguous Gene Symbol Resolution: Links ambiguous gene names to canonical symbols to ensure accurate gene property searches and unambiguous gene lists.
• Data Sources: Built from the B10K ("Bird 10,000 Genomes") consortium phase II whole-genome sequencing effort and supplemented by other publicly available bird genome data.
• Database Structure and Extensibility: Organized into core and feature tables to facilitate straightforward extensions to additional taxa or biological processes.
• Chicken Reference Anchoring: Uses the chicken (Gallus gallus) as a foundational reference for identifying and annotating immune-related genes.

Scientific Applications:

• Hypothesis testing and experimental validation: Generates precise gene lists for experimental design and validation of immune-related hypotheses in birds.
• Comparative and functional genomics: Supports comparative analyses of immune gene repertoires, isoforms, and protein sequences across bird species.
• Zoonotic disease research: Enables investigation of genetic underpinnings of avian immunity relevant to birds as vectors in zoonotic disease dynamics.

Methodology:

Gene collection assembled from B10K phase II whole-genome sequencing and other public bird genomes, anchored on Gallus gallus; data are organized into core and feature tables, and an internal mapping system links unique gene symbol identifiers to canonical symbols.