Est database
seneciodb.org
SenecioDB is an expanding genomics resource for plant scientists, particularly those working on Senecio and Asteraceae (Compositae) more generally. SenecioDB is the product of an extensive body of NERC-funded research on the evolutionary genetics of hybrid speciation in Senecio conducted by Simon Hiscock and Richard Abbott (see publications) initiated under the NERC Environmental Genomics thematic programme, the aim of which was to "exploit existing and emerging genomic knowledge and technology to advance and test evolutionary and ecological theory". The "Senecio system" is rapidly becoming recognized as one of the most tractable plant models in which to study the process of speciation at a genetic, genomic, and ecological level. That speciation events in the genus, homoploid hybrid speciation and allopolyploid speciation, have occurred relatively recently and that the homoploid (diploid) hybrid species Senecio squalidus (Oxford ragwort) became invasive in the UK after its origin make Senecio a unique plant model for studies of plant evolution "in action".SenecioDB incorporates a database of over 10,000 ESTs (and associated contigs) from floral and leaf tissue of five Senecio taxa. By following the menu links, researchers will be able to query this database with their own sequences or by keyword. Bioinformatics tools are also available to mine the EST data for markers such as SNPs and SSRs. All ESTs have been compared to Asteraceae sequences from the Compositae Genome Project and links/alignments are available where matches have been identified. Further background information on Senecio and our work is also hosted on the site.
Site last updated May 2009