Context

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA), which is freely available at http://omia.angis.org.au and mirrored at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=omia&tool=toolbar), provides a summary of published knowledge about inherited disorders and other familial traits in animals (other than mice). It is modeled on, complimentary to, and hyperlinked to, Dr Victor McKusick's Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM). For each species, the web sites provide information on single-locus traits that have been reported in the scientific literature, highlighting those that have been characterised at the DNA level, and those that are potential models of human disease. To date, the content of OMIA has been primarily entered by the senior author, which has imposed severe limitations on its scope. To reach its full potential, OMIA requires input from a team of curators, each knowledgeable in a particular area.

Objective

Taking advantage of the 2007 WSAVA Congress being held in the city in which OMIA originated, the objective is to recruit curators to take responsibility for particular areas relating to small animals.

Key Messages

Opportunities exist for people who are interested in becoming curators of sections of OMIA. Curation can be conducted via a web interface from anywhere in the world.

Conclusion

OMIA can realise its full potential only with a team of curators.