The Creation of a FAIR Data Demonstrator based on Genomes to Fields Data

Abstract

Increasing ease of access to results of crop improvement research enables other researchers to use the data for guiding their own work. A common problem in research involving large datasets is that data can be difficult to find or interpret as a result of different formatting and distribution standards. The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable) data principles were recently developed as a means of addressing this problem. We applied FAIR principles to making the data produced by the maize Genomes to Fields initiative publicly available. Once the data were restructured, we built a new online tool using HTML, CSS and JavaScript that has clear options for searching and a produces usable results. Although our tool is currently based on two years of data from one source, the framework we demonstrate could be applied more broadly and lead to expanded access to maize data, helping many researchers worldwide in their efforts to investigate how genotypes and environments interact and to develop improved varieties of maize for agricultural production.