GrainGenes: centralized small grain resources and digital platform for geneticists and breeders

Authors: BLAKE, VICTORIA - Western Feedstocks Technologies; WOODHOUSE, MARGARET - Iowa State University; Lazo, Gerard; ODELL, SARAH - University Of California, Davis; WIGHT, CHARLENE - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada; TINKER, NICHOLAS - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada; WANG, YI - Former ARS Employee; Gu, Yong; Birkett, Clayton; Jannink, Jean-Luc; Matthews, David; HANE, DAVID - Consultant; MICHEL, STEVE - Consultant; YAO, ERIC - University Of California; Sen, Taner

Submitted to: Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/22/2019
Publication Date: 6/18/2019
Citation: Blake, V.C., Woodhouse, M.R., Lazo, G.R., Odell, S.G., Wight, C.W., Tinker, N.A., Wang, Y., Gu, Y.Q., Birkett, C.L., Jannink, J., Matthews, D.E., Hane, D.L., Michel, S.L., Yao, E., Sen, T.Z. 2019. GrainGenes: centralized small grain resources and digital platform for geneticists and breeders. Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation. 2019.

Interpretive Summary: GrainGenes (https://wheat.pw.usda.gov or https://graingenes.org) is an international centralized repository ensuring long-term sustainability for curated, peer-reviewed datasets of interest to researchers working on wheat, barley, rye, and oat. GrainGenes houses and manages genomic, genetic, germplasm, and phenotypic datasets through a relational database accessed through a dynamically-generated web interface for facilitated data discovery. Since 1992, the GrainGenes resource has continuously served geneticists and breeders in both the public and private sectors on six continents. Recently, several new datasets were curated into the database along with new tools that facilitate DNA sequence analyses. Training videos were prepared and shared through a YouTube channel to guide users through the tools and resources at GrainGenes. The GrainGenes homepage was enhanced by making it more visually intuitive and by adding links to commonly used pages. As reference and pan-genome sequences become available for small grains, GrainGenes will play an increasingly vital role in helping geneticists and researchers to reach the data they need to improve crops.

Technical Abstract: GrainGenes (https://wheat.pw.usda.gov or https://graingenes.org) is an international centralized repository ensuring long-term sustainability for curated, peer-reviewed datasets of interest to researchers working on wheat, barley, rye, and oat. GrainGenes houses and manages genomic, genetic, germplasm, and phenotypic datasets through a relational database accessed through a dynamically-generated web interface for facilitated data discovery. Since 1992, the GrainGenes resource has continuously served geneticists and breeders in both the public and private sectors on six continents. Recently, several new datasets were curated into the database along with new tools that facilitate DNA sequence analyses. Training videos were prepared and shared through a YouTube channel to guide users through the tools and resources at GrainGenes. The GrainGenes homepage was enhanced by making it more visually intuitive and by adding links to commonly used pages. As reference and pan-genome sequences become available for small grains, GrainGenes will play an increasingly vital role in helping geneticists and researchers to reach the data they need to improve crops.