CANTATAdb 3.0: An Updated Repository of Plant Long Non-Coding RNAs

CANTATAdb 3.0 is an updated database of plant long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), containing 571,688 lncRNAs identified across 108 species, including 100 Magnoliopsida (flowering plants), a significant expansion from the previous version. A notable feature is the inclusion of 112,980 lncRNAs that are expressed specifically in certain plant organs or embryos, indicating their potential role in development and organ-specific processes. In addition, CANTATAdb 3.0 includes 74,886 pairs of evolutionarily conserved lncRNAs found across 47 species and inferred from genome-genome alignments as well as conserved lncRNAs obtained using a similarity search approach in 5,479 species pairs, which would further aid in the selection of lncRNAs for functional studies. Interestingly, we find that conserved lncRNAs with tissue-specific expression patterns tend to occupy the same plant organ across different species, pointing toward conserved biological roles. The database now offers extended search capabilities and downloadable data in popular formats, further facilitating research on plant lncRNAs.