Project Summary The Rat Genome Database (RGD) has evolved substantially from a catalog of rat genetic markers, maps, and genes to a comprehensive resource with multiple genomic data types, extensive disease and phenotype annotations, and tools to effectively mine, analyze and visualize the available data. The goal of RGD is to enable investigators in their hypothesis-driven research. Leveraging its robust and flexible infrastructure, RGD has added data from human and other important human disease model organisms to enhance its translational aspect. RGD is also one of the founding members of the Alliance of Genome Resources (Alliance), a consortium of the major model organism databases focused on harmonizing and presenting cross-species information. Since 2019, there has been an exciting reinvigoration in the rat genomics community and research. Through collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a new and vastly improved rat reference genome (mRatBN7.2) has been generated and released, and RGD joined the Genome Reference Consortium (GRC) to curate it. Several complementary NIH-funded projects focused on generating whole genome, transcriptome, and epigenome sequencing datasets are underway in numerous rat strains representing human disease models; several strains, including key models of heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders will have strain-specific, muli-omic data and de novo genome assemblies. RGD has the unique opportunity to be the center of data integration for these new, unique datasets, the overall theme of this renewal. To continue increasing the value of RGD and build on the investments made by the NIH and other international funding bodies in rat research, we will develop an extensive ecosystem for integration of multi-omics and biological data in the rat as a model of common human complex disease and create a comprehensive comparative species platform to predict precision preclinical human disease models for further study by research community.

Project Narrative The rat has been a primary animal model used to study complex human biology, disease, and biological processes because of the wealth of available biological information, genetic, genomic, and additional molecular systems data. Integrating these datasets with those for human and other mammalian models of human disease, are critical to advancing our knowledge of human health and disease. The primary mission of RGD is to provide novel ways to integrate the vast amount of genomic and biological data for the rat, with similar data in human and other mammalian disease models, to provide a unique comparative discovery platform for researchers to identify and evaluate precision rat models, test novel hypotheses, and make vital discoveries related to human health and disease.