Bioinformatics Resource Centers
The Bioinformatics Resource Centers are a group of five Internet-based research centers established in 2004 and funded by NIAID The BRCs were formed in response to the threats posed by emerging and re-emerging pathogens, particularly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Category A, B, and C pathogens, and their potential use in bioterrorism. The intention of NIAID in funding these bioinformatics centers is to assist researchers involved in the experimental characterization of such pathogens and the formation of drugs, vaccines, or diagnostic tools to combat them.
The main goals of the BRCs are as follows:
1) To create comprehensive databases of reliable, up-to-date bioinformatic data related to the pathogens of interest;
2) To provide researchers with easy access to this data through Internet-based search and data retrieval user interfaces;
3) To provide researchers with relevant, state-of-the art computational tools for bioinformatic analysis of these data.
The five BRCs are supported by various institutions, both publicly and privately owned, throughout the USA and Canada. Each BRC focuses on a different group of pathogens. The serves as a common repository and provides summary information about and links into the BRCs.
| Name | Acrono name | Contributing organization | Number of organisms covered | Organisms covered |
| Eukaryotic Pathogen Database Resources | EuPathDB | University of Pennsylvania University of Georgia | 45 in 13 genera | Crithidia Cryptosporidium Encephalitozoon Entamoeba Enterocytozoon Giardia Leishmania Neospora Plasmodium Theileria Toxoplasma Trichomonas Trypanosoma |
| Influenza Research Database | IRD | Northrop Grumman Information Technology J. Craig Venter Institute Vecna Technologies | 1 | Influenza Virus |
| PathoSystems Resource Integration Center | PATRIC | Virginia Bioinformatics Institute University of Chicago | 22 genera | Bacillus Bartonella Borrelia Brucella Burkholderia Campylobacter Chlamydophila Clostridium Coxiella Ehrlichia Escherichia Francisella Helicobacter Listeria Mycobacterium Rickettsia Salmonella Shigella Staphylococcus Vibrio Yersinia Other Bacteria |
| Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource | ViPR | Northrop Grumman Information Technology J. Craig Venter Institute Vecna Technologies | 13 families | Arenaviridae Bunyaviridae Filoviridae Flaviviridae Poxviridae Caliciviridae Togaviridae Hepatitis A virus Coronaviridae Paramyxoviridae Lyssavirus Hepatitis E Herpesviridae Reoviridae |
| VectorBase | VB | University of Notre Dame European Bioinformatics Institute Imperial College London | 30 | Anopheles gambiae Anopheles species Aedes aegypti Biomphalaria glabrata Culex quinquefasciatus Glossina species Ixodes scapularis Lutzomyia longipalpis Musca domestica Pediculus humanus Phlebotomus papatasi |
| none | Virginia Bioinformatics Institute | Data for 13 species: Gene expression, proteomics | Vaccinia Variola Monkeypox Coronavirus Brucella abortus Bacillus anthracis Salmonella typhimurium Yersinia pestis Vibrio cholerae Cryptosporidium parvum Toxoplasma gondii Homo sapiens Mus musculus |