P013 Development of the IPD-MHC database

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The IPD-MHC Database was released in 2003 to provide a curated database of MHC sequences from a number of non-human species. The system was modeled on the IPD-IMGT/HLA database but expanded to cover multiple species and nomenclature systems. The initial release contained data on non-human primates, felines and canines. Since this time further data on horse, sheep, swine, cattle, fish and rats has been added. Since its release, the database has grown rapidly and now contains nearly 7000 alleles covering over 70 non-human species. The site averages ∼ 1500 unique visitors a month viewing ∼ 5,000 pages. This growth has led to a number of challenges in maintaining and developing the site. The bioinformatics challenges of running a locus specific database across multiple nomenclature systems and locations have impacted on the performance and sustainability of the current IPD-MHC model. In 2015 a BBSRC Bioinformatics and Biological Resources (BBR) grant (UK) was awarded to fund both essential upgrades and future expansion of IPD-MHC. Work is currently focused on the underlying database, the public website and the submission procedures. The key aims of this first phase are development of a universal cross species data submission and display tool and streamlining and standardising the work of the nomenclature committees in curating the data. This will allow for simpler and more frequent species updates. Future developments aim to incorporate cross-species alignment, primer design tools and the incorporation of NGS data. Ultimately this will create an improved system capable of coping with large number of sequence variants, genes and species within the dataset. The project is overseen by a steering committee representing key stakeholders and non-human MHC nomenclature committees. This group is also helping to develop new MHC nomenclature standards and guidelines. IPD-MHC: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ipd/mhc/ .