SP4 overview and rationale
Bioinformatics and information systems are the heart and arteries of any research network and particularly so for the GCP which is dispersed over many disciplines and locations.
GCP Subprogramme 4 (SP4) has developed infrastructure to network diverse databases and supported tools and standards for the integration and analysis of data form different sources and disciplines. In addition it has established procedures and infrastructure for storage and publication of quality data for reuse as global public goods.
With the shift in emphasis and focus of GCP in Phase II, SP4 has made conformable adjustments. Emphasis in Phase II will be on user support, both for the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) and for the GCP Challenge Initiatives. The previous themes for SP4 (see GCP's 2009–2011 Medium-Term Plan) are somewhat out of step with the directions of GCP in Phase II. This has resulted in strained classification of some Outputs in the previous MTP. For example, research into phylogenomics is classified in Infrastructure, and development of the Informatics Platform into Quality Improvement. For 2010 onwards, SP4 Outputs will be organised into four themes covering i) user support; ii) data curation and quality; iii) methodology development; and, vi) infrastructure. User support to GCP scientists and IBP users will be a priority. Work continues on defining standards and procedures for quality data management and an important contribution is the development of crop ontologies which will contribute to the international effort in biological standards.
With the new emphasis on molecular breeding, methodology development will focus on breeding questions using statistics, quantitative genetics, simulation and modeling to develop new analysis methods for molecular breeding. Similarly, further development of informatics infrastructure will concentrate on networking breeding information and delivering new and improved applications for breeding logistics and decision support.