Apple gene function and gene family database: an integrated bioinformatics database for apple research

The apple (Malus domestica) is one of the most economically important fruit crops in the world, due its importance to human nutrition and health. To analyze the function and evolution of different apple genes, we developed apple gene function and gene family database (AppleGFDB) for collecting, storing, arranging, and integrating functional genomics information of the apple. The AppleGFDB provides several layers of information about the apple genes, including nucleotide and protein sequences, chromosomal locations, gene structures, and any publications related to these annotations. To further analyze the functional genomics data of apple genes, the AppleGFDB was designed to enable users to easily retrieve information through a suite of interfaces, including gene ontology, protein domain and InterPro. In addition, the database provides tools for analyzing the expression profiles and microRNAs of the apple. Moreover, all of the analyzed and collected data can be downloaded from the database. The database can also be accessed using a convenient web server that supports a full-text search, a BLAST sequence search, and database browsing. Furthermore, to facilitate cooperation among apple researchers, AppleGFDB is presented in a user-interactive platform, which provides users with the opportunity to modify apple gene annotations and submit publication information for related genes. AppleGFDB is available at http://www.applegene.org or http://gfdb.sdau.edu.cn/.