IsoPlot: a database for comparison of mRNA isoforms in fruit fly and mosquitoes

Alternative splicing (AS), a mechanism by which different forms of mature messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are generated from the same gene, widely occurs in the metazoan genomes. Knowledge about isoform variants and abundance is crucial for understanding the functional context in the molecular diversity of the species. With increasing transcriptome data of model and non-model species, a database for visualization and comparison of AS events with up-to-date information is needed for further research. IsoPlot is a publicly available database with visualization tools for exploration of AS events, including three major species of mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae, and Culex quinquefasciatus, and fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the model insect species. IsoPlot includes not only 88,663 annotated transcripts but also 17,037 newly predicted transcripts from massive transcriptome data at different developmental stages of mosquitoes. The web interface enables users to explore the patterns and abundance of isoforms in different experimental conditions as well as cross-species sequence comparison of orthologous transcripts. IsoPlot provides a platform for researchers to access comprehensive information about AS events in mosquitoes and fruit fly. Our database is available on the web via an interactive user interface with an intuitive graphical design, which is applicable for the comparison of complex isoforms within or between species. Database URL: http://isoplot.iis.sinica.edu.tw/