Combining applications and databases integration approaches in a common distributed genomic platform

Many databases and software tools are currently available for accessing genomic data. In general, each tool uses a different type of data in exchange protocols, and usually they offer specific services. The presented system approach, named GenoMEDIA, addresses the problem of integrating these heterogeneous databases and software utilities within a generic distributed platform. GenoMEDIA provides two specific middleware, named Lydia and Antje, for this integration. Lydia offers facilities for working simultaneously with a variety of services and databases; Antje is designed to allow users to manage multiple heterogeneous remote databases in a uniform vision. The aim of this paper is to present GenoMEDIA and how heterogeneous databases and remote services are integrated, in particular how Antje was designed, implemented and tested with various genomic databases.