The project has two interrelated objectives:

1) Development and curation of an integrated database (GrainGenes) resource for wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and oat research and improvement, and

2) Development of associated databases and informatics tools for support of small grains genetic improvement.

This project contributes strongly to National Program 301 (100%), Plant, Microbial, and Insect Germplasm, Conservation, and Development, through the section on "Genomics and Database Management."  In addition, the scope and wide applicability of genomics technologies and computer database means this project is also contributing to all other Programs that involve, or depend on, genetic or molecular data, gene mapping, and germplasm identification and management; i.e., National Programs 302-304, 306-307, and 107.

GrainGenes Database

The GrainGenes database has long been a resource for information on the small grain crops. A recent revitalization of the database was to port all the data into a relational database and build links to other recent information on the genome structure of the grass species. The GrainGenes migration to a relational database format is projected to be more suitable for handling large-scale genomics and genotyping data and will provide faster and more flexible access of researchers to a wide range of important data types. For more information, please visit the main website for GrainGenes.

The new version of the GrainGenes Database (GG2) includes a multi-featured GG2 homepage and a user-friendly GG2 SQL page.

Other Project Support

Using bioinformatics resources available to the Genomics and Gene Discovery research unit, partnerships have been made to assist other projects in small grains research.