ChiloDB: a genomic and transcriptome database for an important rice insect pest Chilo suppressalis

ChiloDB is an integrated resource that will be of use to the rice stem borer research community. The rice striped stem borer (SSB), Chilo suppressalis Walker, is a major rice pest that causes severe yield losses in most rice-producing countries. A draft genome of this insect is available. The aims of ChiloDB are (i) to store recently acquired genomic sequence and transcriptome data and integrate them with protein-coding genes, microRNAs, piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data and (ii) to provide comprehensive search tools and downloadable data sets for comparative genomics and gene annotation of this important rice pest. ChiloDB contains the first version of the official SSB gene set, comprising 80 479 scaffolds and 10 221 annotated protein-coding genes. Additionally, 262 SSB microRNA genes predicted from a small RNA library, 82 639 piRNAs identified using the piRNApredictor software, 37 040 transcripts from a midgut transcriptome and 69 977 transcripts from a mixed sample have all been integrated into ChiloDB. ChiloDB was constructed using a data structure that is compatible with data resources, which will be incorporated into the database in the future. This resource will serve as a long-term and open-access database for research on the biology, evolution and pest control of SSB. To the best of our knowledge, ChiloDB is one of the first genomic and transcriptome database for rice insect pests. Database URL: http://ento.njau.edu.cn/ChiloDB.