About PlantGDB

PlantGDB is an NSF-funded project to develop plant species-specific EST and GSS databases, to provide web-accessible tools and inter-species query capabilities, and to provide genome browsing and annotation capabilities.


Why PlantGDB?

Plant genome sequence data have been accumulating from three major sources: whole genome sequencing and assembly, genome survey sequencing, and expressed sequence tags (ESTs). This data flow will likely continue, with a focus on complete sequencing of "reference species" (Arabidopsis, rice, maize, Medicago truncatula), draft sequencing of other selected species, and further EST and full-length cDNA sequencing. Our project aids the organization and interpretation of these sequence data through integrated databases and analytical tools. Our goals include estimation and characterization of the plant gene space and the extent and conservation of alternative splicing in plants. These objectives will in part be pursued by further development of algorithms and statistical methods for splice site recognition and gene structure prediction. The project also includes further development of the "BioExtract Server" (http://www.bioextract.org/) which is meant to provide a distribution point for plant genome data stored in different local and external databases by offering flexible web-based query capabilities.

Outreach at PlantGDB

As a supplement to our PlantGDB grant, we have installed Plant Genome Research Outreach Portal (PGROP) to provide a centralized repository of various NSF-sponsored Plant Genome Research "outreach" programs and activities. The web site (http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php) lists a variety of resources organized by subject and type and provides entry forms for contributors to publish their programs. The intended user audience includes minorities, students with disabilities, undergraduates, high-school students and teachers; as well as the public at large. PGROP seeks to broaden participation of these user groups in plant genome research topics by making information on appropriate programs, materials, and guidance available.

Learn More:

The menu at left provides some useful links (also described below)

  • News - View recent and old PlantGDB announcements
  • Tour- A brief tour through PlantGDB.org
  • F.A.Q. - Frequently Asked Questions
  • Site Map - Heirarchical map of PlantGDB.org
  • Publications associated with PlantGDB
  • Links relevant to plant genomes and plant sequence data
  • Acknowledgments - Funding for PlantGDB

Get Help:

  • Help/Tutorials - Help Pages and Tutorials covering major PlantGDB resources and tools

How to Contact PlantGDB

The easiest way to contact us is with the Feedback link in the top menu area, accessible from ANY PlantGDB page. We will do our best to get back to you within 24 hours.

You can subscribe to the PlantGDB email newsletter using the "Subscribe" button in the top menu.

If you wish to contact one of the PI's or the PlantGDB website manager, their email addresses are listed below.

Thanks for visiting, and we look forward to hearing from you!

What's New?

   Click below or view all news
Latest update: January 20, 2010


Transcript Assembly Update
New and refreshed transcript assemblies (PUTs) based on GenBank Release 175 are available for download and BLAST at PlantGDB.
New PUT assemblies include:
Refreshed assemblies include: View all PUT assemblies on our EST Assembly Data Page. (January 21, 2010)
GenBank Release 175
GenBank Release 175.0 sequence data are now available on our Download Page. PUT assemblies are currently being updated (January 15, 2010).
New Help Links
Need help understanding what you see on a page? Click the help icon, help icon, for a popup explanation and additional resources. We will be rolling this system out across PlantGDB soon; for now, it's implemented for Genome Browsers (Example).
Links to CIWOG
CIWOGPlants is a database of common introns from 29,967 orthologous gene clusters from eight plant species*. PlantGDB now links to CIWOG alignments: from the gene model record page (see example), click on the @ CIWOG (loose) link under "Additional Resource Links" to search the CIWOG database for this gene model (January 6, 2010)
*Briefings in Bioinformatics 10:631 (2009) (abstract)
Genome browser video
A new 6 minute video tutorial, "How to use genome browsers at PlantGDB", is available from the Home page, Help & Tutorials, or any Genome browser page (December 26, 2009).
Parallel GeneSeqer
GeneSeqer has been installed on USD's high performance computer system, and a Parallel GeneSeqer web interface is available for larger runs (December 26, 2009).
PtGDB (Populus trichocarpa) update
PlantGDB's genome browser for Populus trichocarpa (PtGDB) has been updated to incoporate JGI poptr v1.1 gene model annotations and up-to-date PlantGDB spliced alignments to cDNA, EST, and related species proteins (December 10, 2009).
Annotation video
Check out the new gene structure annotation video, available from Help and Tutorials page or any genome browser. This 4.5 minute video demonstrates the yrGATE annotation tool in action (December 2, 2009).
Maize genome annotation
Community-annotated maize gene models at ZmGDB (see an example) can now be viewed at MaizeGDB and maizesequence, by means of Distributed Annotation Service (DAS). (November 20, 2009).

What's Coming?

Manihot esculenta (cassava) genome browser
The recently-released Manihot esculenta draft genome consists of 11,243 scaffolds spanning 416Mb. PlantGDB will release a cassava genome browser incorporating EST, cDNA, PUT and related-species protein alignments as well as published gene models (expected Jamuary, 2010).

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