Besides methodological support of the SPP research projects, one major goal of the Z project conducted at the DSMZ is the development of a new virus-related database, PhageDive. Built on the BacDive model, it gathers and links all the experimental data and metadata (e.g., geographical origin, isolation source) of viruses present in different culture collections. PhageDive aims to facilitate access to all virus information for the scientific community. The database provides information on the taxonomy, host strains, phage morphology, life cycle, origin and genomic data. PhageDive offers advanced search function allowing queries such as „show me all phages infecting this strain“ or „show me all viruses with this enzyme“. The first prototype with the main functions, but limited data has now been launched. In the coming months, data from other culture collections will be integrated and additional features will be developed based on user feedback.
Learn more about PhageDive. Please try it and give feedback: