need to improve ontologies, e.g. for describing behavior
need to improve tools for analyzing images
covariance of entities, attributes
broader queries of entities within particular constraints, such as
structures
need capacity to store media (e.g., images, movies)
need environmental, ecological, and geographical data
Devo Group report-out
identifying homologies among distantly related taxa
for example, do fishes have digits? E.g., if genes have similar
effects on fins as on digit development.
patterns of covariation
for example, cusps on mammalian teeth
could be used to identify “character modules” that are
well-connected
connections within modules should be more stable than between
for a branch hypothesized to be under positive selection (from e.g. a
molecular analysis), identify candidate phenotypes that could have
been selected for
map synapomorphies onto a phylogeny
identify phenotypes with highest rate of change on that lineage
needs phylogeny that is selectable and manipulable
use the database to point out holes in the knowledge
Discussion
Analysis Pipeline, Character Modules
enrichment analysis: given a list of genes, which phenotype terms are
overrepresented among them
capturing representing variation seems to be a general problem and
challenge, but critically needed
variation in regulatory (or morphogenic) gene expression and
corresponding phenotypic changes (Hox gene expression example)
polyphenism: variability of phenotype that can distinguish species
but is also dependent on environmental factors or variable levels of
gene expression
do we need to capture frequencies for polymorphisms to represent
variability
there are morphological differences even between inbred strains, for
example for JAX mouse strains in cranial morphology
