ELIXIR has incorporated IMGT, the International Immunogenetics Information System, as a fundamental Core Data Resource (CDR) of ELIXIR, following the adoption of an open licence for its scientific data and metadata. This resource forms part of ELIXIR France (IFB/ELIXIR-FR) and is created and managed by the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Montpellier and the CNRS.
ELIXIR Core Data Resources are a carefully selected set of Europe’s major life science data services, now numbering 38. They are recognised for their contribution to biological and biomedical research, their value to the scientific community and their role in safeguarding essential data over the long term.
As part of the selection process, IMGT worked with ELIXIR to make its data and metadata more open. Open licensing allows researchers to combine data from different sources, reproduce and build on previous work, and develop new analyses, tools and applications. It also helps reduce barriers to collaboration across countries, institutions and sectors. As a result, IMGT data are now available to public and private users under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, allowing them to be used, shared and adapted as long as IMGT is appropriately credited.
IMGT is the international reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. It provides expertly curated databases, knowledge resources and analysis tools for studying immunoglobulins or antibodies, T cell receptors, major histocompatibility proteins and other proteins of the immune system.
IMGT was evaluated by an independent panel of international reviewers against criteria including scientific quality, the community it serves, quality of service, governance, sustainability and its contribution to research. Its recognition reflects both the importance of the resource to the international life science community and the commitment of the organisations behind it to making high-quality scientific data available for broad reuse.