Mic Terms

MIC Ontology Terms Skill

Overview

Add and validate ontology term references in the MIC nutrient knowledge base. This ensures nutrients, phenotypes, biological processes, diseases, foods, and genes are properly linked to authoritative ontology terms with correct IDs and labels.

When to Use

• Adding nutrient_term to nutrient entries (uses CHEBI)
• Adding phenotype_term to phenotype entries (uses HP)
• Adding term to biological_processes entries (uses GO)
• Adding disease_term to disease associations (uses MONDO)
• Adding food_term to food sources (uses FOODON)
• Adding term to genes entries (uses HGNC)
• Validating existing ontology term references
• Fixing label mismatches

Ontology Mappings

Term Object Structure

All term references follow this YAML structure:

# For nutrients (CHEBI):
nutrient_term:
  preferred_term: biotin
  term:
    id: CHEBI:15956
    label: biotin

# For phenotypes (HP):
phenotype_term:
  preferred_term: Dermatitis
  term:
    id: HP:0000964
    label: Eczema

# For biological processes (GO):
biological_processes:
  - preferred_term: fatty acid biosynthesis
    term:
      id: GO:0006633
      label: fatty acid biosynthetic process

# For diseases (MONDO):
disease_term:
  preferred_term: neural tube defect
  term:
    id: MONDO:0005343
    label: neural tube defect

# For foods (FOODON):
food_term:
  preferred_term: egg yolk
  term:
    id: FOODON:00002669
    label: egg yolk

# For genes (HGNC):
genes:
  - preferred_term: PC
    description: Pyruvate carboxylase
    term:
      id: HGNC:8636
      label: PC

OAK Lookup Commands

Exact Match

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:chebi info "biotin"
# Returns: CHEBI:15956 ! biotin

Fuzzy/Label Search

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:hp info "l~cognitive impairment"
# Returns multiple matches - select the most appropriate

Starts-With Search

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:hp info "l^skin"
# Returns terms starting with "skin"

Get Full Term Details

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:chebi info CHEBI:15956 -O obo
# Returns complete term information including definition

Search by ID

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:go info GO:0006633
# Returns: GO:0006633 ! fatty acid biosynthetic process

Hierarchical Relationships

uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:go relationships --direction both GO:0006633
# Shows parent and child terms

Common Nutrient Terms (CHEBI)

Specificity Guidelines

Critical: Always use the most specific term that accurately describes the entity.

When a fuzzy search returns multiple results:

1. Review all candidates
2. Check term definitions with -O obo flag
3. Select the term that most precisely matches the biological context
4. If no specific term exists, use the closest parent but note the limitation

Validation

Validate Term Structure

just validate kb/nutrients/vitamins/biotin.yaml

Validate Term IDs and Labels

just validate-terms-file kb/nutrients/vitamins/biotin.yaml

This checks:

• Term IDs exist in the ontology
• Labels match the canonical ontology labels exactly
• Required fields are present

Fixing Label Mismatches

If validation reports a label mismatch:

LABEL MISMATCH: biotin.yaml
  Term: HP:0000964
  Expected: Eczema
  Actual: Dermatitis

Update the label field to match the ontology's canonical label exactly.

Batch Term Population

To find entries missing term annotations:

import yaml
import glob

for f in glob.glob("kb/nutrients/**/*.yaml", recursive=True):
    with open(f) as file:
        data = yaml.safe_load(file)

    # Check nutrient_term
    nt = data.get('nutrient_term', {})
    if not nt.get('term'):
        print(f"{f}: missing nutrient_term.term")

    # Check phenotypes
    deficiency = data.get('deficiency', {})
    for pheno in deficiency.get('phenotypes', []):
        pt = pheno.get('phenotype_term', {})
        if not pt.get('term'):
            print(f"{f}: {pheno.get('name')} - missing phenotype_term.term")

Common Patterns

Adding CHEBI to a Nutrient

1. Look up term: uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:chebi info "l~<nutrient name>"
2. Verify: uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:chebi info <CHEBI:ID> -O obo
3. Add to YAML:

   nutrient_term:
     preferred_term: <Original Name>
     term:
       id: <CHEBI:ID>
       label: <Exact label from OAK>
   

4. Validate: just validate-terms-file kb/nutrients/...

Adding HP to a Phenotype

1. Look up term: uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:hp info "l~<phenotype>"
2. Verify specificity
3. Add phenotype_term: block
4. Validate

Adding GO to Biological Processes

1. Look up: uv run runoak -i sqlite:obo:go info "l~<process>"
2. Check it's under GO:0008150 (biological_process)
3. Add term: block to the process
4. Validate

Troubleshooting

"No results found"

• Try broader search terms
• Check spelling
• Try synonyms
• Use fuzzy search: info "l~<term>"

"Multiple results"

• Check definitions with -O obo
• Choose the most specific term
• Verify the term is from the correct branch (e.g., biological_process vs molecular_function)

"Term exists but label doesn't match"

The ontology canonical label must be used. Common issues:

• Case sensitivity: "Biotin" vs "biotin"
• Synonyms: "Vitamin B7" vs "biotin" (CHEBI uses "biotin")
• Outdated labels: Always fetch the current label from OAK