FAIDARE [@https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04425516] is a data discovery portal providing a biologist-friendly search system over a global federation of 40 plant research databases. It allows users to identify data resources using a full text search approach combined with domain specific filters. Each search result contains a link back to the original database for visualization, analysis, and download. The indexed data types are broad and include genomic features, selected bibliography, QTL, markers, genetic variation studies, phenomic studies, and plant genetic resources. This inclusiveness is achieved thanks to a two stage indexation data model. The first index, more generic, provides basic search functionalities and relies on five fields: name, link back URL, data type, species, and exhaustive description. To provide more advanced filtering, the second stage indexation mechanism takes advantage of BrAPI endpoints to get more detailed metadata on germplasm, genotyping studies and phenotyping studies.
The FAIDARE indexation mechanism relies on a public software package [@https://github.com/elixir-europe/plant-brapi-etl-faidare] that allows data resource managers to request the indexation of their database. This BrAPI client is currently able to extract data from any BrAPI v1.3 and v1.2 endpoint, and the development of BrAPI v2.x indexation will be initiated in 2025. Since not all databases are willing to implement BrAPI endpoints, it is possible to generate metadata as static BrAPI-compliant JSON files, using the BrAPI standard as a file exchange format.
The FAIDARE architecture has been designed by elaborating on the BrAPI data model in combination with the GnpIS Software Architecture [@doi:10.34133/2019/1671403]. It uses an Elasticsearch NoSQL engine that searches and serves enriched versions of the BrAPI JSON data model. FAIDARE also includes a BrAPI endpoint using all indexed metadata. It has been adopted by several communities including the ELIXIR and EMPHASIS European infrastructures, and the WheatIS of the Wheat-Initiative. Several databases are added each year to the FAIDARE global federation, adding to both the portal and BrAPI adoption.