Methods for integration of heterogeneous information resources in molecular biology in the digital library GeneExpress

Difficulties in integrating information resources (IRs) in molecular biology are due to a complex hierarchical and/or network organization of data, to their heterogeneity, complex interrelations, insufficient formalization, and to incompleteness. To overcome these difficulties, a digital library called GeneExpress has been under development in the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Division of Russian Academy of Sciences. This system, which belongs to a new class of information systems, integrates a great number of data-bases and hundreds of computer programs designed for processing information on the structure and functions of DNA, RNA, and proteins. The foundation of our approach is provided by hypertext integration, integration on the basis of a unified object-oriented environment by mapping the data into a canonical model with the use of specially designed mediators, and semantic data integration. A prototype of an implementation of this approach used in the current version of GeneExpress is described.