ANISEED (Ascidian Network for In situ Expression and Embryological Data) is a generic system designed to offer a representation of embryonic development at the level of the genome (cis-regulatory sequences, gene expression, protein annotation), of the cell (morphology, fate, induction, lineage) or of the whole embryo (anatomy, morphogenesis).

The system was first applied to early ascidians (Ascidian NISEED). Ascidians, which are marine invertebrate chordates, are model organisms of choice because their embryos develop with a small number of cells and an invariant lineage, allowing their study a cellular level of resolution. Moreover, ascidians display a larval body plan similar to that of vertebrates suggesting that the study of these simple embryos will shed light on the more complex vertebrates.

The content of the ANISEED database can be explored via the Developmental Browser (http://aniseed-ibdm.univ-mrs.fr), which uses hub pages to organize key information about embryo anatomy, gene function, gene expression, regulatory interactions, and literature. Part of the ANISEED data can be displayed in their genomic context via a Gbrowse-based genome browser. In addition, a “3D Virtual Embryo” module is used both to map molecular or anatomical information onto interactive 3D embryo models, and to generate a quantitative description of the geometry of individual embryonic territories/cells and their topological arrangement, which are then imported into ANISEED. The maintenance of the system is facilitated by two sets of administration and curation tools