A selection of EMBL-EBI data resources have been included in the first list of Global Core Biodata Resources (GCBRs) – a collection of data resources recognised as critical to life science and biomedical research worldwide. 

The list was compiled by the Global Biodata Coalition, a forum for research funders, which aims to better coordinate the efficient management and growth of biodata resources worldwide, and to ensure sustainable financial support for global biodata infrastructure. 

Scientists around the world rely on data resources to perform their research and make new discoveries. These resources include deposition databases, which archive and preserve primary research data, and knowledge bases which draw together and add value to these data through expert curation and annotation, enabling researchers to mine the datasets and use them to advance research.

“The announcement of the list will enable funders and biodata resources to come together to co-develop sustainability models that meet their needs,” said Guy Cochrane, Executive Director of the GBC. “This helps to ensure that these data resources are able to continue to support the global research community.”

Global Core Biodata Resources at EMBL-EBI

Global Core Biodata Resources (GCBRs) represent the most crucial components or nodes within the global life science data infrastructure, whose failure would have a critical impact on the global research endeavour. A key property of GCBRs is that the data they hold is available openly and can be accessed and used without restriction by researchers the world over.

Almost all EMBL-EBI data resources are built in collaborative partnerships. The selected GCBRs hosted at EMBL-EBI or that involve the organisation as a partner are:

• Alliance of Genome Resources – unified system to support model organism genome information from the Alliance of Genome Resources Consortium
• ChEMBL – manually curated database of bioactive molecules with drug-like properties
• ChEBI – dictionary of molecular entities focused on ‘small’ chemical compounds
• Ensembl – a platform for the harmonisation and dissemination of genomes, genes, variation, regulation and comparative genomics across the tree of life
• European Nucleotide Archive – deposition data resource providing globally comprehensive nucleotide sequence, assembly, and annotation data
• Europe PMC – an open-access repository of life sciences research literature that links the content to data 
• GENCODE – run in collaboration with the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, University of California Santa Cruz, Yale University, and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
• GWAS Catalog – a catalogue for genome-wide association study data led by EMBL-EBI in collaboration with the NHGRI and University of Cambridge
• HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) – a resource for approved human gene nomenclature hosted at EMBL-EBI and led by University of Cambridge
• InterPro – a resource for protein family information containing data from 13 member databases

• The Protein Data Bank – managed by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank consortium (wwPDB). The EMBL-EBI resource PDBe is a founding partner of the wwPDB consortium
• The ProteomeXchange Consortium – a consortium for the deposition and dissemination of proteomics data, led by the PRIDE data resource at EMBL-EBI
• Reactome – led by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), in which EMBL-EBI is a partner
• UniProt – an open resource of protein sequence and functional information in which EMBL-EBI is a consortium member alongside the Protein Information Resource and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics 
• VEuPathDB – a resource for genomic and large-scale data for eukaryotic pathogens and invertebrate vectors of disease
• WormBase – the nematode information resource, and WormBase ParaSite, helminth genomics developed in collaboration with Caltech, OICR, and University of Glasgow

“This is a major step in defining the global life sciences data infrastructure on which biomedical research depends, and highlights the need for sustainable funding for these data resources given their critical role,” said Jo McEntyre, Associate Director of EMBL-EBI Services. “We are delighted to see many EMBL-EBI data resources recognised by the GBC as vital biodata resources.” 

The need for sustainable funding

This first set of GCBRs was selected through a rigorous process open to all biodata resources globally. At each stage of the selection process, the candidate biodata resources were assessed by a panel of more than 50 independent expert reviewers against a series of criteria that included their scientific focus, the size and reach of their user communities, their quality of service, their governance, and their impact on global research.

“We were delighted by the response to the first call for Global Core Biodata Resources,” said Warwick Anderson, Chair of the GBC Board of Funders. “Thank you to all resources who applied and to the reviewers who gave their time and expertise so generously. The quality and breadth of this list highlight the critical importance of GBC’s mission to ensure these fundamental resources receive long-term sustainable funding.”

The GBC’s partner funders will now actively work with the community of GCBRs to explore funding models that ensure these biodata resources are able to develop and sustain the critical services they provide to the global research community.

The GBC also brings together major public and charitable funders, who are committed to working in partnership to develop more sustainable funding approaches to support biodata resources – many of which currently rely on short-term, unstable funding.

It is envisaged that the list of GCBRs will grow and develop over time, and there will be further opportunities for resources to apply to be considered for GCBR status over the coming years.

Find out more and see the full list of GCBRs selected by the GBC. 

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