Mouse Phenome Database: A resource to address phenotypic heterogeneity, research reproducibility and replicability

Access to primary data is crucial for three reasons: 1) reproducibility, 2) reanalysis in light of new developments and 3) integrative analysis to find consensus among diverse studies. Unfortunately, data often exist in diverse and sometimes non-computable stores with insufficient documentation and restricted access. MPD is a widely used online resource providing access to primary experimental data and protocols in the predominant genetic model organism, the laboratory mouse [1]. The MPD, in existence for the past 12 years, amasses, annotates, integrates and maintains primary quantitative phenotype data and protocols in a centralized public database. Since the inception of MPD, a wealth of phenotype technologies and mouse resources have led to an expanded scope and refocus of the system – from inbred strain characteristics to a rigorously curated data resource for complex trait and integrative genetic analysis. This resource houses phenotypic, gene expression or genotype data for >1300 strains. MPD provides a catalog of phenotypic assays, analysis tools to explore genetic variation, and a common framework for data access and data dissemination. Data come from investigators around the world (supported by ~130 governmental funding agencies and research foundations) and represent a broad scope of behavioral endpoints and disease-related characteristics in naive mice and those exposed to drugs, environmental agents or other treatments. MPD provides an important venue for compliance with data sharing policies and facilitates data reuse, saving time and resources while reducing animal use.