School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Ronin Institute, Montclair, United States; Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany; School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
James G Graham
Center for Natural Product Technologies and WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO CC/TRM), Pharmacognosy Institute; College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States
Center for Natural Product Technologies and WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO CC/TRM), Pharmacognosy Institute; College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Center for Natural Product Technologies and WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO CC/TRM), Pharmacognosy Institute; College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, United States
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Contemporary bioinformatic and chemoinformatic capabilities hold promise to reshape knowledge management, analysis and interpretation of data in natural products research. Currently, reliance on a disparate set of non-standardized, insular, and specialized databases presents a series of challenges for data access, both within the discipline and for integration and interoperability between related fields. The fundamental elements of exchange are referenced structure-organism pairs that establish relationships between distinct molecular structures and the living organisms from which they were identified. Consolidating and sharing such information via an open platform has strong transformative potential for natural products research and beyond. This is the ultimate goal of the newly established LOTUS initiative, which has now completed the first steps toward the harmonization, curation, validation and open dissemination of 750,000+ referenced structure-organism pairs. LOTUS data is hosted on Wikidata and regularly mirrored on https://lotus.naturalproducts.net. Data sharing within the Wikidata framework broadens data access and interoperability, opening new possibilities for community curation and evolving publication models. Furthermore, embedding LOTUS data into the vast Wikidata knowledge graph will facilitate new biological and chemical insights. The LOTUS initiative represents an important advancement in the design and deployment of a comprehensive and collaborative natural products knowledge base.
