NEMiD: a web-based curated microbial diversity database with geo-based plotting

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 8;9(4):e94088. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094088. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The majority of the Earth's microbes remain unknown, and that their potential utility cannot be exploited until they are discovered and characterized. They provide wide scope for the development of new strains as well as biotechnological uses. The documentation and bioprospection of microorganisms carry enormous significance considering their relevance to human welfare. This calls for an urgent need to develop a database with emphasis on the microbial diversity of the largest untapped reservoirs in the biosphere. The data annotated in the North-East India Microbial database (NEMiD) were obtained by the isolation and characterization of microbes from different parts of the Eastern Himalayan region. The database was constructed as a relational database management system (RDBMS) for data storage in MySQL in the back-end on a Linux server and implemented in an Apache/PHP environment. This database provides a base for understanding the soil microbial diversity pattern in this megabiodiversity hotspot and indicates the distribution patterns of various organisms along with identification. The NEMiD database is freely available at www.mblabnehu.info/nemid/.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biodiversity*
  • Database Management Systems
  • Databases, Factual*
  • Humans
  • India
  • Internet
  • Soil Microbiology*

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India, New Delhi [Grant number No. DIT/R&D/BIO/15(14)/2008]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.