Mega 2: Manipulation Environment for Genetic Analyses

Mega 2：遗传分析的操作环境

• 批准号: 7369842
• 负责人: Daniel E Weeks
• 金额: $ 17.61万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-01 至 2010-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7369842
• 关键词: Automation; Bioinformatics; Case-Control Studies; Classification; Code; Communities; Complex; Computational Biology; Computer software; Country; Data; Data Set; Databases; Development; Diagnostic; Documentation; Environment; Facility Construction Funding Category; Family; Feedback; Genetic; Genetic Processes; Genetic Research; Genome Scan; Healthcare; Hereditary Disease; Imagery; Individual; Information Storage; Institution; Maintenance; Maps; Output; Performance; Plug-in; Predisposition; Process; Reading; Research Personnel; Research Project Grants; Resources; Role; Running; Science; Software Engineering; Source; Speed; Testing; Validation; Week; base; computer program; data acquisition; data management; design; evaluation/testing; file format; gene discovery; genetic analysis; human disease; improved; innovation; open source; portability; programs; software development; statistics; tool; usability

Mega2, the Manipulation Environment for Genetic Analysis, is a unique computer program for facilitating the creation of analysis-ready datasets from data gathered as part of a genetic study. Mega2 transparently allows users to process genetic data for family-based or case/control studies accurately and efficiently. In addition to data validation checks, Mega2 provides analysis setup capabilities for a broad choice of commonly-used genetic analysis programs. It has served an important role in the genetics research community worldwide. Under this proposal, we plan to make Mega2 a powerful open-source application with highly enhanced capabilities, while applying best practices in software engineering to meet these critical needs of an open-source project: portability across OS platforms, ability to evolve with the needs of genetics research, extensive documentation, maximizing code reuse, as well as systematic testing, debugging and maintenance. Specifically, we plan to significantly improve Mega2's usability, data input handling capabilities, its abilities to set up target analyses, and its graphical presentation and storage of data statistics, diagnostics, and results. We will also develop an Application Programming Interface and improved documentation and tutorials. Mega2 has been used to accelerate gene discovery studies for a large list of complex human diseases. Improving this crucial resource will have a significant impact on speeding up the gene-discovery process, which in turn will ease the healthcare burden due to complex genetic disease in the US and world-wide. Relevance: Mega2 is used in many different studies of the genetics of complex human diseases, enabling researchers to swiftly change file formats and prepare files for statistical analysis and transparently processing genetic data accurately and efficiently. As such, Mega2 has and will continue to markedly accelerate the mapping and identification of susceptibility loci for complex human diseases.