Microarray databases


A microarray database is a repository containing microarray gene expression data. The key uses of a microarray database are to store the measurement data, manage a searchable index, and make the data available to other applications for analysis and interpretation.
Microarray databases can fall into two distinct classes:
  1. A peer reviewed, public repository that adheres to academic or industry standards and is designed to be used by many analysis applications and groups. A good example of this is the Gene Expression Omnibus from NCBI or ArrayExpress from EBI.
  2. A specialized repository associated primarily with the brand of a particular entity, an application suite, a topic, or an analysis method, whether it is commercial, non-profit, or academic. These databases might have one or more of the following characteristics:
  3. * A subscription or license may be needed to gain full access,
  4. * The content may come primarily from a specific group, the Immunological Genome Project
  5. * There may be constraints on who can use the data or for what purpose data can be used,
  6. * Special permission may be required to submit new data, or there may be no obvious process at all,
  7. * Only certain applications may be equipped to use the data, often also associated with the same entity,
  8. * Further processing or reformatting of the data may be required for standard applications or analysis,
  9. * They claim to address the 'urgent need' to have a standard, centralized repository for microarray data.,
  10. * There is a claim to an incremental improvement over one of the public repositories,
  11. * A meta-analysis application, which incorporates studies from one or more public databases
Some of the most known public, curated microarray databases are: