Ontologies are classification systems that define objects, or terms, and
the relationships between those objects. For instance, we use the
Uberon ontology to compare data
containing anatomical terms across species since similar data can be
described very differently within different communities. The necessity
of using Uberon is exemplified in the earlier example case of Fanconi
Anemia data where the same feature of FA is described in different
anatomical terms in different species. Using ontologies allows a
computer to “know” that these different terms are describing
comparable phenotypes across multiple species. If you were looking to
find all genes associated with abnormalities in limbs or fins (across
species), we have a page for that
here
(pictured below); there are over 3,000 such genes and collectively, the
associations were observed in nine different species, including goat!
This limb/fin data was also sourced from numerous databases including: