ArrayExpress update—from an archive of functional genomics experiments to the atlas of gene expression

Abstract

ArrayExpress http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress consists of three components: the ArrayExpress Repository—a public archive of functional genomics experiments and supporting data, the ArrayExpress Warehouse—a database of gene expression profiles and other bio-measurements and the ArrayExpress Atlas—a new summary database and meta-analytical tool of ranked gene expression across multiple experiments and different biological conditions. The Repository contains data from over 6000 experiments comprising approximately 200 000 assays, and the database doubles in size every 15 months. The majority of the data are array based, but other data types are included, most recently—ultra high-throughput sequencing transcriptomics and epigenetic data. The Warehouse and Atlas allow users to query for differentially expressed genes by gene names and properties, experimental conditions and sample properties, or a combination of both. In this update, we describe the ArrayExpress developments over the last two years.