GénoPlante-Info (GPI): a collection of databases and bioinformatics resources for plant genomics.

Génoplante is a partnership program between public French institutes (INRA, CIRAD, IRD and CNRS) and private companies (Biogemma, Bayer CropScience and Bioplante) that aims at developing genome analysis programs for crop species (corn, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and pea) and model plants (Arabidopsis and rice). The outputs of these programs form a wealth of information (genomic sequence, transcriptome, proteome, allelic variability, mapping and synteny, and mutation data) and tools (databases, interfaces, analysis software), that are being integrated and made public at the public bioinformatics resource centre of Génoplante: GénoPlante-Info (GPI). This continuous flood of data and tools is regularly updated and will grow continuously during the coming two years. Access to the GPI databases and tools is available at http://genoplante-info.infobiogen.fr/.

The GENETPIG database: a tool for comparative mapping in pig (Sus scrofa).

The GENETPIG database has been established for storing and disseminating the results of the European project: 'GENETPIG: identification of genes controlling economic traits in pig'. The partners of this project have mapped about 630 porcine and human ESTs onto the pig genome. The database collects the mapping results and links them to other sources of mapping data; this includes pig maps as well as available comparative mapping information. Functional annotation of the mapped ESTs is also given when a significant similarity to cognate genes was established. The database is accessible for consultation via the Internet at http://www.infobiogen.fr/services/Genetpig/.

Contribution to high-resolution mapping in pigs with 101 type I markers and progress in comparative map between humans and pigs.

In the frame of the European program GenetPig, we localized on the Pig map 105 coding sequences (type I markers) from different origins, using INRA-University of Minnesota porcine Radiation Hybrid Panel (IMpRH, 101 markers) and somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP, 93 markers, of which only four were not also mapped using IMpRH). Thus, we contributed to the improvement of the porcine high-resolution map, and we complemented the integration between the RH and cytogenetic maps. IMpRH tools allowed us to map 101 new markers relatively to reference markers of the first generation radiation hybrid map. Ninety out of 101 markers are linked to an already mapped marker with a LOD score greater than 4.8. Seventy-eight markers were informative for comparative mapping. Comparison of marker positions on the RH map with those obtained on the cytogenetic map or those expected by Human-Pig comparative map data suggested to us to be cautious with markers linked with a LOD lower than 6. These results allowed us to specify chromosomal fragments well conserved between humans and pigs and also to suggest new correspondences (Sscr1-Hsap3, Sscr9-Hsap9, Sscr13-Hsap11, Sscr15-Hsap6) confirmed by FISH on pig chromosomes. We examined in more detail the comparative map between Hsap12 and Sscr5 considering gene order, which suggests that rearrangements have occurred within the conserved synteny.