AraENCODE: a comprehensive epigenomic database of Arabidopsis Thaliana

Abstract

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is a vital model organism in plant biology and genetics. In the last two decades, researchers have made significant progresses in characterizing the chromatin conformation and epigenomic information within the Arabidopsis genome. This information includes but is not limited to the higher structure of chromosomes, histone modification, DNA methylation, and chromatin accessibility. The results of these studies have provided an additional layer of information that complements the DNA sequence data. However, utilizing such knowledge poses a challenge for certain groups that lack bioinformatics analysts or adequate computing resources. A user-friendly and reproducible platform for accessing this information is urgently needed. In this study, we have developed a comprehensive epigenomic database for Arabidopsis (AraENCODE http://glab.hzau.edu.cn/AraENCODE), which comprises a total of 4,511 data libraries, including published chromatin conformation capture datasets (Hi-C, HiChIP), epigenomic datasets (ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq, FAIRE-Seq, MNase-Seq, DNase-Seq, BS-seq), and transcriptome data (RNA-Seq, miRNA-Seq). Furthermore, we have incorporated various existing resources, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cis-regulatory modules, and multi-omics associations. We aim to provide a novel platform for investigating the regulation of epigenetic and chromatin interactions in Arabidopsis in relation to biological processes.