Please send inquiries and data submissions to us at   phenome@jax.org

Important information pertaining to phenotype strain survey data sets regarding strains, numbers of animals to be tested, study design, ideal animal ages, and other parameters can be found on our recommendations for phenotype strain survey projects page.

What must be submitted?

Names of investigators and project title. The principal/corresponding investigator should be listed first. (Example)

Publications (optional) – citations for any directly related publications.

A data set.

There are two options for supplying animal data for phenotype strain survey projects:



Option A: A spreadsheet or text file where individual animals are shown as rows, and measurements are shown as columns. Each column must have a meaningful heading. For example:

strain	sex	animal_ID	WBC	RBC	PLT	...
A/J	f	P01	4.36	9.19	1034	...
A/J	f	P02	4.30	9.24	1017	...
A/J	f	P03	4.38	9.15	1042	...
... etc. ...
A/J	m	P08	4.36	9.19	1034	...
A/J	m	P09	4.30	9.24	1017	...
A/J	m	P10	4.38	9.15	1042	...
... etc. ...
BALB/cByJ	f	P23	4.36	9.19	1034	...
BALB/cByJ	f	P24	4.30	9.24	1017	...
... etc. ...

Option B: A spreadsheet or text file having one row per animal measurement. This option is more verbose but sometimes easier to generate and manage. If this method is used, the data file should have these fields: ...

strain	sex	animal_ID	parameter_name	parameter_value
A/J	f	P01	RBC	9.19
A/J	f	P02	RBC	9.24
A/J	f	P03	RBC	9.15
... etc. ...
A/J	f	P01	WBC	4.36
A/J	f	P02	WBC	4.30
A/J	f	P03	WBC	4.38
... etc. ...
BALB/cByJ	f	P23	RBC	9.19
BALB/cByJ	f	P24	RBC	9.24
... etc. ...

Regardless of which option you use, check the MPD project recommendations for working parameters such number of strains to test and the number of animals per strain/sex that must be tested for reasonable statistical power. Individual animal data are greatly preferred over investigator-computed strain means. We'll compute strain means, SD, and other summary statistics using your individual animal values. Use of MPD missing data codes is recommended. Correct, current strain nomenclature is appreciated.


A table of measurement descriptions and units. For example:

varname	description	units
WBC	white blood cell count	n/µL
RBC	red blood cell count	n/µL
PLT	platelet count	n/µL

This lets us know exactly what the values in the data set represent, and assists us in classifying your data into the MPD framework. There should be one row for each parameter in your data set.


Documentation of the experimental protocol. Click here for an example. If this is covered adequately in a publication we may be able to get necessary info from there.

Animal documentation covering animal procurement, ages, environments, and diets. Click here for an example. If this is covered adequately in a publication we may be able to get necessary info from there.

How are submissions evaluated and curated?

Data submissions are subject to preliminary scientific review and acceptance. We evaluate and prioritize incoming data sets based on these factors:
• Is it complete and polished? Is the structure clear and concise?
• Does it serve to characterize mouse strains in a straightforward way? Are there measurements that (when taken individually) serve to characterize strains?
• Does it conform reasonably closely to the MPD project recommendations?
• What's the perceived community interest level? How suitable is it to MPD's present needs?
• Is it organized/formatted (see above) in a way that fits with the MPD structure/model?

MPD's curatorial resources are limited, therefore timeframe may vary considerably. We may contact you to address structural issues, incomplete materials, or other problems. Status inquiries may be sent to phenome@jax.org . A data submission may be deprioritized if:
• data do not seem to have been carefully reviewed or contain obvious errors or omissions
• data do not serve to characterize mouse strains in a straightforward way or seem to require complex multivariate analyses in order to characterize strains.


After passing preliminary review, we'll load your data into a password-protected area of the MPD and send you instructions on how to preview it. We'll work with you to finalize the project. When project materials are deemed complete and you notify us of your approval, your data will be made available to the public*.

Contributing data is sometimes an iterative process. For long-term projects, you can submit data periodically as the project progresses. We can also update project attributes (such as names of investigators, related publications, etc.) upon notification at any time.

Succinctness is important. Data sets should be structured to include fields that tell the story in the most concise way, so that the community can grasp and work with your data. If your data set includes additional "supporting" measurements, let us know so these can be stored in the data set but not represented as MPD measurements for display or correlations purposes.

* Important!

Please do not use the MPD as a means to review and analyse data (such as to prepare a publication) without intending to release your data to the public within a reasonable amount of time. We reserve the right to automatically release data to the public 60 days after it is deemed complete if momentum towards release seems stalled.