About EchinoBase

This web site is the home for genomic information on echinoderms. It either hosts or will soon host sequence and annotation data for species from all of the eleutherozoan echinoderms (sea urchins, sea stars, brittle stars and sea cucumbers). The primary source of sequence data is the ongoing sequencing efforts from Baylor College of Medicine, Human Genome Sequencing Center. Other sources include smaller sequencing projects from individual laboratories. We try to limit as our data sources as much as possible to those archived at Genbank. The information system residing here attempts to provide up-to-date information on genomes, genes and annotations for the use of the experimental scientists. It is our policy to post new sequence information in a timely way as well as insuring the primary datasets we use are archived at Genbank and other public data sites.

All of the organisms covered here are primarily used as research models in developmental biology, cell biology, gene regulation molecular biology, evolutionary biology, metabolic biochemistry and marine biology. In addition to NCBI, data sets and correlative information is also posted at the following web sites:

Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center Sea Urchin web site.

View the Davidson Laboratory Endomesoderm Network Page

The effort to sequence the purple sea urchin genome and additional echinoderm genomes is supported by the Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health through the Baylor College of Medicine, Human Genome Sequencing Center, Houston, Texas. Funding was approved based on an initiative submitted by the Sea Urchin Genome Advisory Committee The proposal for the sequencing and assembly of additional echinoderm genomes is posted.

The software used to organize and present the sea urchin genome comes from GMOD, a collection of open source software tools for creating and managing genome-scale biological databases. The further development and maintenance of this site is funded by the NICHD, NCRR and the Beckman Institute.

People

PI Team:

Dr. Veronica Hinman
Dr. Charles Ettensohn
Dr. Peter Vize

Director of Operations:

Dr. Gregory Cary

Director of Development:

Dr. Kamran Karimi