Integrated Genome Browser (IGB, pronounced “ig-bee”) is a fast, feature-rich, open-source desktop genome browser thousands of researchers have used to explore and analyze genomic data. To make it as easy as possible for researchers to load their data in IGB, we provide built-in genome assemblies and annotations for model and non-model organisms. We obtained many of these from sources familiar to AgBioData members, including TAIR, Sol Genomics Network, and MaizeGDB. Other database and genome browser developers do similar work to disseminate genomic data to researchers, and some offer robust programmatic access to their data via APIs (application programmer interfaces). By accessing these computational resources, IGB can show new assemblies without our team needing to replicate assembly data files to our own servers. In this webinar, we’ll discuss IGB’s latest integrations with genome data providers and AgBioData members. We’re also excited to highlight the ongoing work of doctoral student Karthik Raveendran in our lab who is developing innovative methods for visualizing single-cell RNA-Seq data in the Integrated Genome Browser and how this new capability helps biologists understand, evaluate, and analyze these data better. Altogether, these integrations address one of the most important problems in data visualization in bioinformatics: Developing sustainable ways to make the vast wealth of genome-centric experimental data available to the community.
