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Arabidopsis thaliana is one of the most popular experimental plants. However, only 40% of its genes have at least one experimental Gene Ontology (GO) annotation assigned. Systematic observation of mutant phenotypes is an important technique for elucidating gene functions. Indeed, several large-scale phenotypic analyses have been performed and have generated phenotypic data sets from many Arabidopsis mutant lines and overexpressing lines, which are freely available online. Since each Arabidopsis mutant line database uses individual phenotype expression, the differences in the structured term sets used by each database make it difficult to compare data sets and make it impossible to search across databases. Therefore, we obtained publicly available information for a total of 66,209 Arabidopsis mutant lines, including loss-of-function (RATM and TARAPPER) and gain-of-function (AtFOX and OsFOX) lines, and integrated the phenotype data by mapping the descriptions onto Plant Ontology (PO) and Phenotypic Quality Ontology (PATO) terms. This approach made it possible to manage the four different phenotype databases as one large data set. Here, we report a publicly accessible web-based database, the RIKEN Arabidopsis Genome Encyclopedia II (RARGE II; http://rarge-v2.psc.riken.jp/), in which all of the data described in this study are included. Using the database, we demonstrated consistency (in terms of protein function) with a previous study and identified the presumed function of an unknown gene. We provide examples of AT1G21600, which is a subunit in the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase complex, and AT5G56980, which is related to the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.

We report here the generation of an additional collection of Dissociation (Ds) transposon-tagged, sequence-indexed lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. Our RIKEN Ds insertion collection now totals 17,668 lines. Our collection has preferential insertions in chromosomes 1 and 5, because Ds was transposed from start loci on those chromosomes (11,854 and 5,814 lines, respectively). We describe here features of the latter 5,814 lines. The former 11,854 lines have been described previously. We have created a searchable database of the insertion sites and mutated genes (http://rarge.gsc.riken.jp/), and are depositing these lines in the RIKEN BioResource Center (http://www.brc.riken.go.jp/lab/epd/Eng/). Our collection of these mutants will contribute to progress in functional genomics of plants.

More than 10 000 transposon-tagged lines were constructed by using the Activator (Ac)/Dissociation (Ds) system in order to collect insertional mutants as a useful resource for functional genomics of Arabidopsis. The flanking sequences of the Ds element in the 11 800 independent lines were determined by high-throughput analysis using a semi-automated method. The sequence data allowed us to map the unique insertion site on the Arabidopsis genome in each line. The Ds element of 7566 lines is inserted in or close to coding regions, potentially affecting the function of 5031 of 25 000 Arabidopsis genes. Half of the lines have Ds insertions on chromosome 1 (Chr. 1), in which donor lines have a donor site. In the other half, the Ds insertions are distributed throughout the other four chromosomes. The intrachromosomal distribution of Ds insertions varies with the donor lines. We found that there are hot spots for Ds transposition near the ends of every chromosome, and we found some statistical preference for Ds insertion targets at the nucleotide level. On the basis of systematic analysis of the Ds insertion sites in the 11 800 lines, we propose the use of Ds-tagged lines with a single insertion in annotated genes for systematic analysis of phenotypes (phenome analysis) in functional genomics. We have opened a searchable database of the insertion-site sequences and mutated genes (http://rarge.gsc.riken.go.jp/) and are depositing these lines in the RIKEN BioResource Center as available resources (http://www.brc.riken.go.jp/Eng/).