ocsESTdb

ocsESTdb provides a curated database for comparative analysis of gene expression in oil crops, focusing on the transcriptional landscape and metabolic pathways of fatty acid synthesis and seed oil accumulation.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Data Collection: Contains 248,522 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and 106,835 unigenes derived from cDNA libraries of Brassica napus, Glycine max, Sesamum indicum, and Arachis hypogaea.
• Detailed Annotation: Unigene entries are annotated by sequence similarity searches against TAIR, NR protein database, Gene Ontology (GO), COG, Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL, and KEGG.
• Metabolic Network Analysis: Includes five genome-scale metabolic networks integrating metabolites and gene–enzyme–reaction associations, constructed and visualized with Cytoscape and yEd.

Scientific Applications:

• Comparative Genomics: Enables comparative analysis of acyl lipid synthesis and metabolism across the four oilseed species to identify conserved and species-specific pathways.
• Metabolic Engineering: Provides transcriptional and network-level insights to inform selection of genes and pathways for modifying seed oil content.
• Functional Genomics: Facilitates functional annotation and discovery of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis and other seed metabolic processes.

Methodology:

ESTs and unigenes were collected from cDNA libraries and annotated by sequence similarity searches against TAIR, NR, GO, COG, Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL, and KEGG; annotations were integrated into five genome-scale metabolic networks constructed and visualized using Cytoscape and yEd.