Introduction
The first release of the International Glycan Repository was recently completed to enable the registration, query, and linking of glycan structures through a browser or programmable interface. The service also provides a variety of methods to query and browse the relationships of structures based on logic inherent within the structures itself. Herein, we describe an overall explanation of the system structure, backend RDF ontology, and functionality of currently available tools for registered structures. We also explain the functionality of the linked data endpoint and web services for software developers to more effectively store and query glycan structures in the repository. As all of the system software for this project will be open-sourced, it is intended for parts or the entire system to be reusable by other teams who would like to store their data in RDF format. This is also in hopes for better data quality and federation of queryable data across projects and endeavors. These efforts are aimed at expanding the role of glycomics structures in research by providing an identification method, a reference implementation, and a datastore with linkages to any other works in other Semantic Web datastores worldwide.
Background
Full details regarding the background of this repository is available in the Meeting Report of the 5th ACGG-DB Meeting, published in GlycoBiology Journal.
List of Services
The manual best describes the services available through the website. Also, the api is the best resource to see the backend services provided.
Partnership Program
The GlyTouCan partnership program allows for specialized functionality to organizations working directly with GlyTouCan. It mainly revolves around organizations registered into GLIC.