Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
published statistics and surveys, agrochemical control measures available, practical
and 'anecdotal' information from agricultural advisors, agricultural policy, germplasm
collections of potato, its wild relatives and P. infestans and its relatives etc., genetic
maps/databases of host and pathogen such as the EUCABLIGHT consortium database
of characterised isolates across Europe (www.eucablight.org) scientists working in
the field or current work being carried out on research grants. Clearly, to make
optimal use of this diversity of information there is the need for a structured
information system whereby the various sources can be linked together in a logical
and helpful format. However, this demands 'good old-fashioned' experts to invest
time and effort to create such resources and this means that the economic case for
such resource investments has to be made.
12.6 BRINGING TOGETHER DISCIPLINES
Although the examples above largely bring together knowledge within a discipline,
the construction of such web sites involves many challenges. More challenging still,
and another dimension where the attributes of IT can be effectively exploited in
epidemiology, is in bringing together related, disparate, but relevant, disciplines and
making their resources accessible to new users. For example, an important aspect of
understanding the epidemiology of plant-microbe interactions is to understand how
abiotic stress caused by climate, e.g. drought and heat stresses, can affect the
susceptibility of a plant to infection. A web resource called DRASTIC (Database
Resource for the Analysis of Signal Transduction in Cells; www.drastic.org.uk) may
not at first seem like an epidemiologist's favourite site. Likewise, one of its main
resources, a database of plant gene expression data which provides valuable
information on the potential interaction between biotic and abiotic stresses, may be
difficult at first to relate to epidemiology. However, DRASTIC does not simply
provide data from microarrays. The database contains information from a wide
range of published papers on whether plant genes are up- or down-regulated in
response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Much of the information is based on
experiments with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and because the database
uses Arabidopsis Genome Initiative (AGI) numbers it is possible to be confident
about which gene within a family of genes is actually being regulated.
On the DRASTIC web site is a good example of how new knowledge can be
obtained by assembling data from disparate sources visually, namely the 'Metabolic
pathways of diseased potato' wallchart. Although not an epidemiological example,
this was assembled to assist in understanding the complex biochemical changes that
can take place in diseased potatoes, but as a wallchart it is fixed both spatially and
temporally. Whilst the chart itself is useful it still only touches the surface of making
the information within it readily accessible and more importantly, more easily
understood by non-specialists. To exploit the power of IT, ideally the information it
contains should be stored in a database and drawn on demand from a set of queries.
The graphics should not only demonstrate in an accessible and attractive style
associations not hitherto observed, but also allow further interaction through an
intuitive interface. This is still technologically challenging but becoming practical.
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