BioMart

BioMart is an open-source data management system and query interface designed to provide unified access to diverse biological databases. It enables researchers to extract, filter, and combine data from multiple sources without requiring extensive programming or complex SQL knowledge.

The system organizes data around several core concepts. A Mart represents a collection of data from a particular resource or project. Within a Mart, datasets group related information, while attributes define the fields returned by a query. Filters constrain results (for example by gene identifiers, species, or genomic coordinates). Users construct queries by selecting a Mart, choosing one or more datasets, specifying attributes, and applying filters to obtain a tailored result set.

BioMart supports both a web-based interface and programmatic access through web services. It provides options for building queries interactively as well as integrating query capabilities into pipelines and software tools. Because it can connect across multiple datasets, BioMart facilitates cross-database retrieval and comparative analyses where available.

The BioMart project originated to enable efficient publication and retrieval of large-scale genomic and proteomic data. It is used by a number of public data resources and serves as a flexible, scalable solution for researchers seeking to access and combine biological data from multiple sources. The ecosystem continues to evolve with enhancements to data models, interfaces, and interoperability with other bioinformatics tools.