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Ontologies are a useful structural framework for linking concepts at a higher level and overcoming barriers posed by language or varying definitions. Despite the upcoming use of ontologies for data integration (e.g., Knowledge Graphs) in animal sciences, the transformation to semantically rich and interoperable data is not yet fully implemented. Reasons lie in institutional development with poor dissemination, as well as in the focus on species- or subarea-specific ontologies, such as the Animal Trait Ontology for Livestock (ATOL), FSKX (Fair Scientific Knowledge eXchange), or the Environment Ontology of Livestock (EOL).
Building on the cross-species metadata schema provided by MIMSA (Minimal Information Metadata Standard for Animals)—a standard developed during the ELIXIR Biohackathon 2025—this project aims to harmonise ontologies for this standard with existing ones, adding extensions where required. This extended ontology will be used to annotate MIMSA-compliant datasets, which will be available as RO-Crates, based on work to be performed in the ELIXIR Biohackathon 2026 (Project #14). A further integration with ontologies will support compliance with the FAIR principles, ensuring that datasets can be easily linked, integrated, and processed.
For the implementation, appropriate terms must be defined and organized into a hierarchy, taking into account aspects relating to farm animals, laboratory animals, and their environment. The ontology must then be linked to existing ontologies as an extension and integrated into the RO-Crate environment. This task requires collaboration between animal research specialists, research data management experts, ontologists, semantic web experts, and ARC RO-Crate specialists. Additional consultation with the plant research community—which has already successfully implemented a similar concept in the DataPlant Biology Ontology (DPBO)—will help link plant IT infrastructure with animal research methods, moving towards a shared research ecosystem and greater comparability of agricultural data.
Considering the broader scope, this project directly advances de.NBI’s goals to support FAIR principles and promote cross-disciplinary reusability. Crucially, it expands de.NBI’s reach by onboarding the animal science domain and strengthening connections to multiple NFDI consortia (NFDI4Biodiversity, FAIRagro, and DataPlant). By filling a vital infrastructural gap and integrating back into the newly established ELIXIR Domestic Animals Community, the project ensures that technical advancements benefit international networks and foster a more interconnected European life science data ecosystem.