MouseNet (c) database: digital management of a large-scale mutagenesis project

The Munich ENU Mouse Mutagenesis Screen is a large-scale mutant production, phenotyping, and mapping project. It encompasses two animal breeding facil ities and a number of screening groups located in the general area of Munic h. A central database is required to manage and process the immense amount of data generated by the mutagenesis project. This database, which we named MouseNet(C), runs on a Sybase platform and will finally store and process all data from the entire project. In addition, the system comprises a portf olio of functions needed to support the workflow management of the core fac ility and the screening groups. MouseNet(C) will make all of the data avail able to the participating screening groups, and later to the international scientific community. MouseNet(C) will consist of three major software comp onents: Animal Management System (AMS) Sample Tracking System (STS) Result Documentation System (RDS) MouseNet(C) provides the following major advantages: being accessible from different client platforms via the Internet being a full-featured multi-user system (including access restriction and d ata locking mechanisms) relying on a professional RDBMS (relational database management system) whi ch runs on a UNIX server platform supplying workflow functions and a variety of plausibility checks.