MsGVD: A Genomic Variation Database of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important and widely cultivated forage crops in the worldwide. In recent years, with the rapid progress of high-throughput sequencing technology and the reduction of sequencing costs, bulk data from alfalfa resequencing projects have been compiled and can be applied for population genetics, although an abundance of resequencing data is available in public, there is still a lack of a comprehensive tool to exhibit the results of genomic variations and genome-wide association study (GWAS). In this study, in order to facilitate access to alfalfa data, we developed the first comprehensive database dedicated to alfalfa, the alfalfa genomic variation database (MsGVD, http://www.genehub.com.cn/msgvd.html), within this platform, including 221 distinct alfalfa germplasm accessions and 2,404,340 SNPs, users can access annotated information regarding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels), and display results through through linkage disequilibrium heatmap, SNP distribution, phylogenetic trees, haplotype networks, geographical maps, and more. We recommend this database in order to accelerate the molecular breeding process of alfalfa, and we will continue to update the database to add more data and features.