After a comprehensive internal and external evaluation process, ELIXIR announces four new Recommended Interoperability Resources (RIR). The BioImage Informatics Index (BIII), FAIRtracks, OmicsDI and PLAZA have joined the list alongside the existing ten.
Recommended Interoperability Resources are ELIXIR services considered to be vital to enable the interoperability of databases and metadata. These resources include registries, tools and standards to ensure data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR).
All ELIXIR RIRs are open to anyone free of charge and research funding agencies often reference the set as an instrument for researchers to fulfil their data management obligations.
About the new resources
BioImage Informatics Index
The BioImage Informatics Index is a bioimaging resource (tool/workflow) finder based on biological questions, methods and tools with linked literature of the resource. The resource is run by the NEUBIAS consortium, supported by COST, IFB (ELIXIR France), FBI (Eurobioimaging Node), and COMULIS.
FAIRtracks
The FAIRtracks ecosystem is a collaboration between ELIXIR Norway, ELIXIR Spain and EMBL/EBI. It involves gathering, curating, validating, integrating, and indexing the metadata of genomic track datasets (files with reference genome coordinates of observed or predicted features), properly annotated as to be considered FAIR. FAIRtracks is a set of JSON Schemas defining a minimal draft standard used to consolidate genomic track metadata from various sources. Downstream clients can query through the TrackFind webtool/API.
Omics Discovery Index (OmicsDI)
The Omics Discovery Index provides a knowledge discovery framework across heterogeneous omics data (genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics). Operated by EMBL-EBI, it indexes metadata from more than 20 omics resources across four continents.
PLAZA
Run by ELIXIR Belgium, PLAZA provides an integrative resource for functional, evolutionary, and comparative genomics in plants. It centralises genomic data produced by different genome sequencing initiatives and offers an analysis portal to study both model and crop plants through different data types, analysis tools and visualisations.
For more information about ELIXIR Recommended Interoperability Resources view our dedicated page: elixir-europe.org/platforms/interoperability/rirs