The FunGenES database: a genomics resource for mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation

• Published in: PloS one 2009-09, Vol.4 (9), p.e6804-e6804
• Main Authors: Schulz, Herbert, Kolde, Raivo, Adler, Priit, Aksoy, Irène, Anastassiadis, Konstantinos, Bader, Michael, Billon, Nathalie, Boeuf, Hélène, Bourillot, Pierre-Yves, Buchholz, Frank, Dani, Christian, Doss, Michael Xavier, Forrester, Lesley, Gitton, Murielle, Henrique, Domingos, Hescheler, Jürgen, Himmelbauer, Heinz, Hübner, Norbert, Karantzali, Efthimia, Kretsovali, Androniki, Lubitz, Sandra, Pradier, Laurent, Rai, Meena, Reimand, Jüri, Rolletschek, Alexandra, Sachinidis, Agapios, Savatier, Pierre, Stewart, Francis, Storm, Mike P, Trouillas, Marina, Vilo, Jaak, Welham, Melanie J, Winkler, Johannes, Wobus, Anna M, Hatzopoulos, Antonis K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Annotations; Brain research; Cell Differentiation; Cell Line; Cell self-renewal; Cluster Analysis; Clusters; Consortia; Databases, Genetic; Developmental Biology/Stem Cells; Differentiation (biology); DNA microarrays; Embryo cells; Embryonic stem cells; Embryos; Expressed Sequence Tags; Gene clusters; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Genes; Genetics and Genomics/Gene Expression; Genomics; Metabolic pathways; Mice; Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics; Multigene Family; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Pluripotency; Regulatory sequences; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Search engines; Signal Transduction; Signaling; Software; Stem cell research; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Stem Cells - cytology; Tags; Transcription (Genetics); Transcription factors
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006804

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have high self-renewal capacity and the potential to differentiate into a large variety of cell types. To investigate gene networks operating in pluripotent ES cells and their derivatives, the "Functional Genomics in Embryonic Stem Cells" consortium (FunGenES) has analyzed the transcriptome of mouse ES cells in eleven diverse settings representing sixty-seven experimental conditions. To better illustrate gene expression profiles in mouse ES cells, we have organized the results in an interactive database with a number of features and tools. Specifically, we have generated clusters of transcripts that behave the same way under the entire spectrum of the sixty-seven experimental conditions; we have assembled genes in groups according to their time of expression during successive days of ES cell differentiation; we have included expression profiles of specific gene classes such as transcription regulatory factors and Expressed Sequence Tags; transcripts have been arranged in "Expression Waves" and juxtaposed to genes with opposite or complementary expression patterns; we have designed search engines to display the expression profile of any transcript during ES cell differentiation; gene expression data have been organized in animated graphs of KEGG signaling and metabolic pathways; and finally, we have incorporated advanced functional annotations for individual genes or gene clusters of interest and links to microarray and genomic resources. The FunGenES database provides a comprehensive resource for studies into the biology of ES cells.