Corresponding author: Vikas Gupta (
Academic editor:
Metadata management for sequence data is essential for the accurate description of Earth’s biodiversity. Within metadata attributes, those that reference the biological sources of sequences and samples and allow linking to the specimen or sample of origin are fundamental for facilitating connections between molecular biology, taxonomy, systematic biology and biodiversity research, increasing the discoverability and usability of data by researchers worldwide.
Sequence data is publicly archived at the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (
The first version of the tool was designed to support correct annotation of the attributes that identify the source material from which the sample or sequence were obtained, namely /specimen_voucher, /culture_collection, and /biomaterial (
Since the submission of the biological source attributes to the INSDC may be performed both when data is initially uploaded or on following updates using a variety of tools, we developed the API as an open source tool that is publicly accessible and may be used as a free-standing service. The API is built using Representational State Transfer (REST) API Architecture and it is designed to use the data available in the
The API is designed in a way that it can be extended easily for any future enhancements and initially expected to promote and support the submission and any subsequent curation of better structured and more richly described source data. We expect this tool to contribute to better connected biodiversity data and hence provide a stronger foundation to strengthen the value of natural history collections, taxonomic expertise, and biodiversity knowledge.
Vikas Gupta
TDWG 2022
BiCIKL project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action under grant agreement No 101007492.
BiCIKL project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action under grant agreement No 101007492.
BiCIKL - Biodiversity Community Integrated Knowledge Library