The LOTUS initiative for open knowledge management in natural products research
Adriano Rutz 
University of Geneva 
Maria Sorokina
Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
Jakub Galgonek
Czech Academy of Sciences
Daniel Mietchen
Ronin Institute
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
University of Virginia
Egon Willighagen
Maastricht University
Arnaud Gaudry
University of Geneva
James G. Graham
University of Illinois at Chicago
Ralf Stephan
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
Roderic Page
University of Glasgow
Jiří Vondrášek
Christoph Steinbeck
Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
Guido F. Pauli
University of Illinois at Chicago
Jean-Luc Wolfender
University of Geneva
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Geneva
University of Fribourg
Contemporary bioinformatic and chemoinformatic capabilities hold promise to reshape knowledge management, analysis and interpretation of data in natural products research. Currently, reliance on a disparate set of non-standardized, insular, and specialized databases presents a series of challenges for data access, both within the discipline and for integration and interoperability between related fields. The fundamental elements of exchange are referenced structure-organism pairs that establish relationships between distinct molecular structures and the living organisms from which they were identified. Consolidating and sharing such information via an open platform has strong transformative potential for natural products research and beyond. This is the ultimate goal of the newly established LOTUS initiative, which has now completed the first steps toward the harmonization, curation, validation and open dissemination of 750,000+ referenced structure-organism pairs. LOTUS data is hosted on Wikidata and regularly mirrored on https://lotus.naturalproducts.net. Data sharing within the Wikidata framework broadens data access and interoperability, opening new possibilities for community curation and evolving publication models. Furthermore, embedding LOTUS data into the vast Wikidata knowledge graph will facilitate new biological and chemical insights. The LOTUS initiative represents an important advancement in the design and deployment of a comprehensive and collaborative natural products knowledge base.