About Buckwheat Genome DataBase (BGDB)
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench; 2n=2x=16) is a nutritionally dense annual crop widely grown in temperate zones. The grains contain high levels of starch, protein, flavonoids, and dietary fiber. Furthermore, the flour is gluten-free and can replace wheat flour in a celiac diet.

To accelerate molecular breeding programs of this important crop, we generated a draft assembly of the buckwheat genome using short reads obtained by NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing). We obtained short reads of 264.5 Gb using Illumina sequencers.

After assembling these short reads, we determined 387,594 scaffolds as the draft genome sequence (FES_r1.0). The total length of FES_r1.0 was 1,177,687,305 bp and the N50 of the scaffolds was 25,109 bp. Gene prediction analysis revealed 286,768 coding sequences (CDSs; FES_r1.0_cds). The total length of FES_r1.0_cds was 212,917,911 bp, and the N50 was 1,101 bp.

Of these, the functions of 36,763 CDSs were annotated by BLAST analysis of the NCBI NR and/or TAIR 10 databases. FES_r1.0, FES_r1.0_cds and their deduced amino acid sequences (FES_r1.0_pep), BLAST annotations, and the results of a domain search against InterPro are opened on this website, the Buckwheat Genome DataBase (BGDB).

We really hope the BGDB will be utilized as a valuable resource that can be used in efforts to develop buckwheat cultivars with superior agronomic traits.

Acknowledgement
This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (Genomics-based Technology for Agricultural Improvement, SFC3001).
References
Yasui, Y., Hirakawa, H., Ueno, M., Matsui, K., Katsube-Tanaka, T., Yang, S.-J., AII, J., Sato, S., Tabata, S., Mori, M.
Assembly of the draft genome of buckwheat and its applications in identifying agronomically useful genes.

Giménez-Bastida, J.A. and Zieliński H. (2015)
Buckwheat as a functional food and its effects on health
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63, 7896-7913; doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02498

Comino, I., de Lourdes Moreno, M., Real, A., Rodríguez-Herrera, A., Barro F., and Sousa, C. (2013)
The gluten-free diet: Testing alternative cereals tolerated by celiac patients
Nutrients, 5, 4250-4268; doi:10.3390/nu5104250