All essential elements of the distributed ZF-MODELS database are already publicly accessible, initially providing a limited set of test data:

• The zebrafish group at the Sanger Institute is responsible for integrating microarray, enhancer detection, expression pattern and knock-out data with the existing genome sequence. The currently available data has been mapped to the genome sequence and made browsable and searchable. Details can be found on the Sanger website.
  
  
• ZF-ESPRESSO, developed by MPI EB, is a new database that aims to give biologists quick access to processed expression profiling data. In particular, it will allow to compare experiments performed by different investigators and to search for genes with similar expression profiles, and provide links to external image databases (such as in situ images at ZFIN and GFP images at CLGY). The current version provides a developmental timecourse of whole embryos of the Tü strain on the Affymetrix zebrafish array generated by Martina Konantz (unpublished). The eventual aim is to include all zebrafish expression profiling experiments for which raw data are available in public repositories.
  
  
• The CLGY image database provides images and descriptions of GFP expression patterns generated by UiB (Ellingsen et al., 2005).
  
  
• The Zebrafish Atlas, under development by LEI, provides 3D images of zebrafish development.

In order to avoid a duplication of programming effort, high-throughput data generated by the ZF-MODELS consortium are released through existing external databases if suitable:

• Descriptions of ENU mutants from the ZF-MODELS project are being made available directly through ZFIN. Descriptions of the first 663 mutants were submitted in February 2006.
  
  
• Descriptions of in situ patterns from the ZF-MODELS project are likewise being made available through ZFIN. Descriptions of the first 965 in situ patterns were submitted by February 2006.
  
  
• Raw data and descriptions of microarray experiments from the ZF-MODELS project are being made available through the ArrayExpress repository. The first datasets were submitted in 2005.