<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>We present an ontology for describing genomes, genome comparisons, their evolution
and biological function. This ontology will support the development of novel genome
comparison algorithms and aid the community in discussing genomic evolution. It
provides a framework for communication about comparative genomics, and a basis
upon which further automated analysis can be built. The nomenclature defined
by the ontology will foster clearer communication between biologists, and also
standardize terms used by data publishers in the results of analysis programs.
The overriding aim of this ontology is the facilitation of consistent annotation of
genomes through computational methods, rather than human annotators. To this
end, the ontology includes definitions that support computer analysis and automated
transfer of annotations between genomes, rather than relying upon human mediation.</p>
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Comp Funct Genomics. 2004 Aug-Oct; 5(6-7):537-544