# get_ontology_descendants

A read tool on the OrigeneMCP MCP server.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `get_ontology_descendants`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-ontology-descendants

## Facts

- Tool: `get_ontology_descendants`
- Server: OrigeneMCP (`gentel-lab/origenemcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/GENTEL-lab/OrigeneMCP
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade C, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 0
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_ontology_descendants",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why get_ontology_descendants is rated Low

This tool retrieves ontology descendants—querying a taxonomy or classification hierarchy to return related terms or concepts. There is no indication of data modification, deletion, execution, or financial impact. The empty description lowers confidence slightly, but the naming pattern and peer tools on the biomedical research server strongly indicate a read-only query operation.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool name 'get_ontology_descendants' indicates retrieval of hierarchical ontology data. The description is empty, limiting direct evidence, but the function signature (get_*) and context among sibling tools (which are all Read operations like check_*,…"

## Use case

AI agents call get_ontology_descendants to retrieve information from OrigeneMCP without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches OrigeneMCP:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "get_ontology_descendants": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on OrigeneMCP (438)

- `post_vep_hgvs` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/post-vep-hgvs.md
- `post_vep_id` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/post-vep-id.md
- `post_ga4gh_features_search` — Other — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/post-ga4gh-features-search.md
- `post_lookup_id` — Other — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/post-lookup-id.md
- `check_genome_accessions` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/check-genome-accessions.md
- `check_virus_accessions` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/check-virus-accessions.md
- `clinvar_find_single_mutation` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/clinvar-find-single-mutation.md
- `clinvar_get_best_refseqid_by_sequence` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/clinvar-get-best-refseqid-by-sequence.md
- `clinvar_query_sequence_variants` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/clinvar-query-sequence-variants.md
- `clinvar_query_variant_significance` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/clinvar-query-variant-significance.md
- `depmap_comprehensive_analysis` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/depmap-comprehensive-analysis.md
- `depmap_get_dependency` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/depmap-get-dependency.md
- `depmap_get_expression` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/depmap-get-expression.md
- `depmap_get_mutation` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/depmap-get-mutation.md
- `ensembl_get_genes_by_band` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/ensembl-get-genes-by-band.md
- `get_activity` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity.md
- `get_activity_by_id` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity-by-id.md
- `get_activity_by_ids` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity-by-ids.md
- `get_activity_supplementary_data_by_activity` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity-supplementary-data-by-activity.md
- `get_activity_supplementary_data_by_activity_by_id` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity-supplementary-data-by-activity-by-id.md
- `get_activity_supplementary_data_by_activity_by_ids` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-activity-supplementary-data-by-activity-by-ids.md
- `get_alignment_region` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-alignment-region.md
- `get_all_interaction_partners_of_the_protein_set` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-all-interaction-partners-of-the-protein-set.md
- `get_archive_id` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-archive-id.md
- `get_assay` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay.md
- `get_assay_by_id` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay-by-id.md
- `get_assay_by_ids` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay-by-ids.md
- `get_assay_class` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay-class.md
- `get_assay_class_by_id` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay-class-by-id.md
- `get_assay_class_by_ids` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp/get-assay-class-by-ids.md
- …and 408 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/gentel-lab-origenemcp.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=gentel-lab-origenemcp · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/gentel-lab-origenemcp