The OBO Foundry: Coordinated Evolution of Ontologies to Support Biomedical Data Integration

Smith, Barry and Ashburner, Michael and Rosse, Cornelius and Bard, Jonathan and Bug, William and Ceusters, Werner and Goldberg, Louis J and Eilbeck, Karen and Ireland, Amelia and Mungall, Christopher J and OBI Consortium, The and Leontis, Neocles and Roccaâ Serra, a b and Ruttenberg, Alan and Sansone, Susanna-Assunta and Shah, Migam and Whetzel, Patricia L and Lewissi, Suzanna (2007) The OBO Foundry: Coordinated Evolution of Ontologies to Support Biomedical Data Integration. Nature Biotechnology, 25 (11). pp. 1251-1255.

[thumbnail of nbt1346.pdf]
Preview
Text
nbt1346.pdf

Download (216kB) | Preview

Abstract

The value of any kind of data is greatly enhanced when it exists in a form that allows it to be integrated with other data. One approach to integration is through the annotation of multiple bodies of data using common controlled vocabularies or ontologies. Unfortunately, the very success of this approach has led to a proliferation of ontologies, which itself creates obstacles to integration. The Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) consortium has set in train a strategy to overcome this problem. Existing OBO ontologies, including the Gene Ontology, are undergoing a process of coordinated reform, and new ontologies being created, on the basis of an evolving set of shared principles governing ontology development. The result is an expanding family of ontologies designed to be interoperable, logically well-formed, and to incorporate accurate representations of biological reality. We describe the OBO Foundry initiative, and provide guidelines for those who might wish to become involved in the future.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: doi:10.1038/nbt1346
Uncontrolled Keywords: FMA Open Biomedical Ontologies
Subjects: All Projects > Ontologies
Depositing User: Jim Brinkley
Date Deposited: 14 Sep 2007
Last Modified: 24 Jul 2017 23:49
URI: http://sigpubs.si.washington.edu/id/eprint/211

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item