Bio-Broker: a biological data and services mediator system

Diversity, dispersion and heterogeneity in data and services strongly constraint the integrated exploitation of biological data. Bio-Broker, an XML-based architectural framework, aims to assist systems developers in the construction of mediator-services. The unique characteristic of the platform is its ability to manage software tools and algorithms to allow dynamic, flexible and intuitive “wiring” of new services expanding the functionality and enabling the easy incorporation of new procedures to customize the system for specific concerns. The mediator offers a view of the system as a single data source where EVASs (Extended Valued Added Services) are readily available for enhancing query processing. A diverse set of applications that combine gene expression and genomic data are used to demonstrate the usefulness of the mediator system.