Neurodatabase.org: networking the microelectrode

The abundance of Grin2b mRNA transcript in several forebrain data sets varies approximately twofold across 35 strains. Half of the variation in expression is herita-ble; and this makes it practical to map the responsible QTLs. Grin2b has two major QTLs, one on chromosome 8 (Fig. 1), and another on chromosome 6 near the transcript itself—probably associated with one or more of the 556 SNPs in this gene. The QTL on chromosome 8 is particularly intriguing, but it would be a project in its own right to discover the single correct gene associated with this QTL among ∼50 candidates. WebQTL allows hundreds of covariates with high correlations to Grin2b to be rapidly extracted, analyzed and graphed. These include many ethanol-related phenotypes, as well as measures of locomotor activity, anxi-may simultaneously influence expression of several critical components of synaptic receptor cycling. Several members of this extended family of genes also have known relations to alcohol-related phenotypes 6. This example is just one of many query paths that can be navigated rapidly in WebQTL to generate and test hypotheses using this reference set of RI strains. ety, maze learning, neuron cell numbers, hippocampal and cerebellar volumes and adult neurogenesis. Similarly, hundreds of transcripts with expression differences that covary with Grin2b expression can be extracted. These include Mpdz, which encodes a protein involved in the clustering and endocytosis of NMDA receptors; Ag1g1, which encodes an adaptor protein complex that is part of the clathrin coated pit; Inpp4a, which is involved in the cycling of clathrin to the Golgi; and Nfm, which encodes a neuro-filament protein. At least five members of the kinesin family of motor proteins, essential for transport of the endocytic vesicle through the axoplasm, also have expression levels that correlate positively with Grin2b. What is intriguing about this example is that genetic variation underlying receptor expression accompanied by descriptive metadata. Users can acquire actual datasets, supplied by multiple laboratories, recorded with different techniques from different preparations, all in a common format and annotated compatibly, for extended analyses. Additional user tools, such as Bruxton DataGlobe, under development as a joint academic–corporate effort, will ease reanalysis of shared data by permitting data upload from within data acquisition applications, and data download directly to standard acquisition routines. Effective use and re-use of shared data requires methods for selecting specific datasets from among others in a repository. The neurodatabase.org QueryTool allows searching by data-descriptive metadata terms, …