ADDGENE DATA HUB: A PLATFORM FOR SHARING AAV AND ANTIBODY CHARACTERIZATION DATA

Addgene is a nonprofit repository that distributes DNA-based biological materials and serves as a hub for community resources, such as our 150,000-plus plasmid collection. Our repository also includes plasmid-derived adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) and recombinant antibodies — two versatile tool types that are used in a range of applications in the neurosciences.

Both AAV and antibodies exhibit significant performance variability dependent on experimental conditions, production parameters, and biological context. However, publications often lack sufficient technical details to replicate an experiment and rarely report negative results, limiting researchers' ability to predict tool performance in their systems or learn from unsuccessful approaches.

To address these challenges, we developed the Addgene Data Hub — a user-friendly platform for researchers to contribute and access basic validation data, generated using AAV or antibodies distributed by Addgene. The Data Hub currently contains 150 AAV reports containing microscopy images of the expression of chemogenetic, optogenetic, and other types of viral tools used in neuroscience research, alongside >500 antibody reports covering the entire antibody collection. By making methodological details and data outcomes broadly accessible to the research community, the Data Hub serves as a valuable resource for improving reproducibility and transparency, which are essential to accelerating research and discovery.