Gallus expression in situ hybridization analysis: a chicken embryo gene expression database.

With sequencing of the chicken genome largely completed, significant effort is focusing on gene annotation, including acquiring information about the patterns of gene expression. The chicken embryo is ideally suited to provide detailed temporal and spatial expression information through in situ hybridization gene expression analysis in vivo. We have developed the Gallus expression in situ hybridization analysis (GEISHA) database and user interface (http://geisha.arizona.edu) to serve as a centralized repository of in situ hybridization photos and metadata from chicken embryos. This report describes the design and implementation the GEISHA database and Web site and illustrates its usefulness for researchers in the biomedical and poultry science communities. Results from a recent comprehensive expression analysis of microRNA expression in chicken embryos are also presented.