quercusTOA: integrating functional annotations and comparative genomics across oak lineages

Oaks (Quercus L.) are key components of Northern Hemisphere Forest ecosystems, yet the integration of their rapidly growing genomic resources remains challenging. Here, we present quercusTOA, a genomic and functional resource that integrates nine Quercus genome assemblies. By combining automated functional annotation (InterProScan, eggNOG-mapper) with comparative genomics via genomic lift-over, we have developed a relational database designed to link protein-centric annotations with positional genomic data. Our results demonstrate that this integration supports cross-species ortholog identification and synteny analysis. To facilitate data access and exploration, we provide the quercusTOA-app, a user-friendly interface that streamlines database management and specific bioinformatic tasks. These include functional annotation, sequence-based homology searches, and multiple sequence alignments. Furthermore, the application enables the construction of phylogenetic trees for individual orthologous genes and proteins, allowing for the study of specific sequence evolution across the included assemblies. quercusTOA provides a standardized and scalable framework for evolutionary and functional studies in Quercus, offering a consistent approach to maintain genomic coordinate synchronization across the genus.