MonarchBase

Welcome to MonarchBase. An improved version of the genome assembly (v3), with updated annotations, a revised geneset (0GS2.0), and genome-wide variations are now available.

MonarchBase is an integrated database for the eastern North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The database provides access to a wide-range of genomic, proteomic, and related biological information. As the monarch is famous for its long-distance migration (see Reppert Lab), the biological interpretation of the genome has focused on this aspect of the butterfly's biology.

The Monarch Genome Project is based out of the laboratory of Steven M. Reppert at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, initially in collaboration with Jeffrey L. Boore (Genome Project Solutions). The project was funded by NIH grant GM086794-02S1. The draft sequence of the monarch genome (v1) and its characterization have been published in Zhan et al., 2011. The improved version (v3) and the description of MonarchBase have been published in Zhan et al., 2012. In a collaboration led by Marcus R. Kronforst (University of Chicago), a population genomic study has been performed to uncover the genetic basis of monarch migration (Zhan et al., 2014). The relevant resequencing and variation data have been integrated into MonarchBase.