Shanghai RAPESEED Database: a resource for functional genomics studies of seed development and fatty acid metabolism of Brassica

The Shanghai RAPESEED Database (RAPESEED, http://rapeseed.plantsignal.cn/) was created to provide the solid platform for functional genomics studies of oilseed crops with the emphasis on seed development and fatty acid metabolism. The RAPESEED includes the resource of 8462 unique ESTs, of which 3526 clones are with full length cDNA; the expression profiles of 8095 genes and the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE, 23,895 unique tags) and tag-to-gene data during seed development. In addition, a total of approximately 14,700 M3 mutant populations were generated by ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis and related seed quality information was determined using the Foss NIR System. Further, the TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes) platform was established based on the generated EMS mutant population. The relevant information was collected in RAPESEED database, which can be searched through keywords, nucleotide or protein sequences, or seed quality parameters, and downloaded.