MolluscDB: an integrated functional and evolutionary genomics database for the hyper-diverse animal phylum Mollusca

Abstract Mollusca represents the second largest animal phylum but remains poorly explored from a genomic perspective. While the recent increase in genomic resources holds great promise for a deep understanding of molluscan biology and evolution, access and utilization of these resources still pose a challenge. Here, we present the first comprehensive molluscan genomics database, MolluscDB (http://mgbase.qnlm.ac), which compiles and integrates current molluscan genomic/transcriptomic resources and provides convenient tools for multi-level integrative and comparative genomic analyses. MolluscDB enables a systematic view of genomic information from various aspects, such as genome assembly statistics, genome phylogenies, fossil records, gene information, expression profiles, gene families, transcription factors, transposable elements and mitogenome organization information. Moreover, MolluscDB offers valuable customized datasets or resources, such as gene coexpression networks across various developmental stages and adult tissues/organs, core gene repertoires inferred for major molluscan lineages, and macrosynteny analysis for chromosomal evolution. MolluscDB presents an integrative and comprehensive genomics platform that will allow the molluscan community to cope with ever-growing genomic resources and will expedite new scientific discoveries for understanding molluscan biology and evolution.