On the representation and manipulation of integrated genomic databases

A software architectural model and a set of research tools are being developed to aid in the characterization and analyze chromosomes and genomes of select model organisms using existing genetic information from several well-known genetic databases. A small database containing information on one human chromosome and several selected model organisms has been developed. Since the data contained in the various existing genetic databases are mostly in the form of scientific text with specialized terminology, the approach to designing the small unified database has been to view this scientific text as a collection of interrelated syntactico-semantic objects. The base objects are described. Each base object has been viewed as a collection of subobjects where each of these, in turn, is characterized through its syntax and its semantics. The approach to the design and organization of the database is outlined