title: WDDD: Worm Developmental Dynamics Database.
abstract: During animal development, cells undergo dynamic changes in position and gene expression. A collection of quantitative information about morphological dynamics under a wide variety of gene perturbations would provide a rich resource for understanding the molecular mechanisms of development. Here, we created a database, the Worm Developmental Dynamics Database (http://so.qbic.riken.jp/wddd/), which stores a collection of quantitative information about cell division dynamics in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos with single genes silenced by RNA-mediated interference. The information contains the three-dimensional coordinate values of the outlines of nuclear regions and the dynamics of the outlines over time. The database provides free access to 50 sets of quantitative data for wild-type embryos and 136 sets of quantitative data for RNA-mediated interference embryos corresponding to 72 of the 97 essential embryonic genes on chromosome III. The database also provides sets of four-dimensional differential interference contrast microscopy images on which the quantitative data were based. The database will provide a novel opportunity for the development of computational methods to obtain fresh insights into the mechanisms of development. The quantitative information and microscopy images can be synchronously viewed through a web browser, which is designed for easy access by experimental biologists.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Developmental Dynamics, RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kyoda
authors.forename: Eru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Taeko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oguro
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urai
authors.forename: Ryoko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuramochi
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Onami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D020407:Internet; D034622:RNA Interference