Purpose
Subprorgramme 4 (SP4) aims to ensure effective informatics support for GCP scientists through user services and training and quality management of GCP data through linking and integrating information and tools into a coherent information platform.

Overview and rationale

Summary of results in 2009
The work of SP4 in Phase II falls into four themes: the first addresses user support for data management and analysis; the second is concerned with data curation, quality assurance and publication of GCP data; the third theme involves statistical and quantitative genetics research for methodology development, and the fourth develops informatics infrastructure for data management, integration and publication. In 2009, the GCP Statistical Support Service provided consulting, training and publications to GCP scientists on issues that ranged from experimental design to different types of data analyses. Validated ontologies for agronomic traits for GCP priority crops were developed and published by teams of curators who were trained in the use of ontology development tools. Data management, analysis methods and analytical tools for microarray experiments have been developed and published by the project on support for Subprogramme 2 activities. Several crop informatics platforms using GCP Informatics Platform technology have been released that allow browsing and mining of integrated genetic resource and crop information.

For summaries of SP4 results from previous years, as well as full reports on yearly progress, please see GCP’s Annual reports