Minimal Information Standardization of Phenomic Experimental Data in Animals

The current landscape of animal phenomics is characterised by a substantial lack of standardisation, hindering data reuse, reproducibility, and interoperability across studies, all of which are particularly important in light of the 3Rs principles for animal experiments (replace, reduce, refine). Within ELIXIR, the Domestic Animals Genome and Phenome Focus Group emerged to establish standardised practices that enhance the quality and interoperability of animal research data. In this context, the ISA model presents a robust, domain-agnostic framework well-established in the life sciences for describing experimental metadata. Notably, other scientific communities, such as the ELIXIR Plant and Metabolomics Communities (MIAPPE, PhenoMeNal), have successfully leveraged the ISA model to improve the consistency and usability of their metadata. Our project aims to develop a minimal information checklist tailored specifically for phenomics, facilitating the integration of diverse datasets, including recirculation systems in agriculture, and fostering collaborative research efforts. We will focus on various goals. Identifying essential aspects of animal phenotyping, informed by existing frameworks and community input. We aim to produce a concise and practical checklist that can be readily adopted by researchers, and promote a culture of standardisation. Mapping the checklist to the ISA model ensures alignment with established standards, promotes interoperability and facilitates data reuse while improving the overall quality of research outputs. Adopting existing ISA tools streamlines the implementation of our metadata checklist, providing user-friendly interfaces for researchers to manage, document, and share animal phenotyping data efficiently.