DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) update report 2021

The Bioinformation and DDBJ (DNA Data Bank of Japan) Center (DDBJ Center; https://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp) operates archival databases that collect nucleotide sequences, study and sample information, and distribute them without access restriction to progress life science research as a member of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC), in collaboration with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the European Bioinformatics Institute. Besides the INSDC databases, the DDBJ Center also provides the Genomic Expression Archive for functional genomics data and the Japanese Genotype-phenotype Archive for human data requiring controlled access. Additionally, the DDBJ Center started a new public repository, MetaboBank, for experimental raw data and metadata from metabolomics research in October 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DDBJ Center openly shares SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences in collaboration with Shizuoka Prefecture and Keio University. The operation of DDBJ is based on the National Institute of Genetics (NIG) supercomputer, which is open for large-scale sequence data analysis for life science researchers. This paper reports recent updates on the archival databases and the services of DDBJ.