Database Commons

a catalog of worldwide biological databases

The China National GeneBank Sequence Archive (CNSA) is an open and freely accessible curated data repository built for archiving, sharing, and reutilizing of multiomics data. The remarkable advancement in sequencing technologies has triggered a paradigm shift in life science research. However, it also poses tremendous challenges for the research community in data management and reusability. With the dramatic advance of sequencing technologies like spatial transcriptome sequencing, it brings an unprecedented explosion in sequence data and new requirements for data archiving. CNSA was established in 2017 as one of the fundamental infrastructures to offer multiomics data archiving for the worldwide research community. Here, we present the state-of-the-art enhancements of CNSA encompassing the dramatical increase of varied types of data, the latest features and services implemented in CNSA as well as consistent efforts supporting global cooperation in biodiversity preservation and utilization. CNSA provides public archiving and open-sharing services for sequencing data and relevant metadata including genome, transcriptome, metabolism, and proteome from single-cell (also spatial resolved) level to individual and population level, as well as further analyzed results. As of 2024, CNSA has archived >16.3 petabytes of data and provided the data curation, preservation, and open-share service for >1581 publications from >560 institutions. It plays a pivotal role in supporting global scientific projects such as the 10 000 Plant Genomes Project. So far, CNSA has been recommended by various academic publishers such as Cell, Elsevier, and Oxford University Press. CNSA is accessible at https://db.cngb.org/cnsa/.

With the application and development of high-throughput sequencing technology in life and health sciences, massive multi-omics data brings the problem of efficient management and utilization. Database development and biocuration are the prerequisites for the reuse of these big data. Here, relying on China National GeneBank (CNGB), we present CNGB Sequence Archive (CNSA) for archiving omics data, including raw sequencing data and its further analyzed results which are organized into six objects, namely Project, Sample, Experiment, Run, Assembly and Variation at present. Moreover, CNSA has created a correlation model of living samples, sample information and analytical data on some projects. Both living samples and analytical data are directly correlated with the sample information. From either one, information or data of the other two can be obtained, so that all data can be traced throughout the life cycle from the living sample to the sample information to the analytical data. Complying with the data standards commonly used in the life sciences, CNSA is committed to building a comprehensive and curated data repository for storing, managing and sharing of omics data. We will continue to improve the data standards and provide free access to open-data resources for worldwide scientific communities to support academic research and the bio-industry. Database URL: https://db.cngb.org/cnsa/.