Large-scale databases in toxicogenomics.

The use of genomics to improve molecular strategies in safety assessment has immense promise, with increased mechanistic understanding and improved prediction of unknown compounds possible. Several public initiatives in toxicogenomics are now underway, and mechanistic findings are clearly emerging. A number of databases and standards are emerging to support these initiatives. Significant attention to standardization, both for biologic and technical issues, will be necessary for effective community database(s) to be fully operational.