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Submitted to: Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 8/18/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Over the past few years, two technologies have revolutionized the way that genetic research is conducted. The first technology is the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web, which allows rapid exchange of information among scientists. This technology reduces duplication of effort and results in a faster awareness and utilization of scientific discoveries. The second technology, DNA sequencing, has led to the accumulation of enormous amounts of data on genes in a wide variety of organisms and has greatly increased our understanding of how genes work. As a result, geneticists working with a variety of organisms have established databases on the Internet to exchange genetic information. However, surprisingly few genetics databases have been established for insects. The study reported in this paper was conducted by scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, FL and showed that entomologists use the internet and that sufficient genetic data are available in this medium to justify databases for some groups of insect pests. Additionally, this paper includes specific recommendations for establishing such databases. Technical Abstract: The World Wide Web has revolutionized the exchange of information between scientists. In genetics in particular, the development of large genome databases has allowed the rapid growth of genome projects for a variety of organisms. However, with a few exceptions, insects have not been included in this trend. I argue that this oversight is not due to lack of Internet activity in entomology or to lack of useful genetic information. I suggest that insect genetic databases can and should be established, and propose specific information for inclusion. |
