Databases for Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae Research

Large-scale biological data stored in web databases are essential infrastructure in plant science to search for and explore omics data, experimental resources, and information in the literature. Here, this omics information includes, among other types, information on the genome (e.g., DNA sequences, genomic structures, DNA markers), transcriptome (e.g., cDNA sequences, gene expression profiles, mechanisms for regulation of gene expression), and metabolome (e.g., compounds, enzymes, metabolic pathways). Experimental resources consist of information on seeds of cultivars and inbred lines, as well as BAC and cDNA clones. In terms of large-scale omics information, novel and comprehensive methods of analysis have been widely applied in the field of plant science over the past decade to efficiently and swiftly identify genes and chemical compounds involved in agriculturally significant traits of crops. To integrate and provide omics and research information, many web databases for the Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae have been developed and are being maintained (Table 3.1). In this chapter, prominent databases for the Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae will be introduced.