Introducing the Vertebrate Breed Ontology (VBO)
Monarch is thrilled to share that our paper, “The Vertebrate Breed Ontology: Toward Effective Breed Data Standardization,” has been published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine! Read the full article here.
Veterinary and comparative medicine are entering a data-driven era — but progress is limited by a fundamental issue: inconsistent breed naming. VBO takes the bull by the horns!
In this work, we introduce VBO, an open, community-driven ontology representing over 19,500 breed concepts across 49 species of livestock and companion animals. Designed for interoperability, VBO connects breed names with species taxonomy, foundation stock, and international data sources — enabling precision medicine, large-scale research, and smarter veterinary electronic health records (EHRs).
Why this matters
- Improves the computability and comparability of veterinary and research datasets
- Supports data harmonization in EHRs, registries, and genomics databases
- Bridges animal and human health through shared ontological infrastructure
Thank you to the VBO team, the Monarch Initiative, OMIA, DAD-IS, and all collaborators who contributed to this milestone. We’re excited to see VBO adopted across clinical, agricultural, and research ecosystems.
The full ontology is open and accessible via GitHub and OLS.
Adorable Animal Highlights from the VBO Team
At the heart of the VBO team is a deep commitment to animals — their health, wellbeing, and joy. In that spirit, we’re excited to share some favorite snapshots of the beloved animals of VBO team members. Enjoy!
