The Trait Selector BrAPP is a JavaScript-based application used to visually search and select traits from an ontology. The Trait Selector employs a visual aid, an image of a plant, to connect plant anatomy with relevant trait ontology terms. Instead of scrolling through a long list of possible traits, the user can click on pieces of the image to show the traits associated with specific plant structures. The Trait Selector BrAPP can be used to quickly find specific traits or to identify accessions that have a specific phenotype of interest.
The Trait Selector BrAPP has been successfully added to Cassavabase[@doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkac078] and MGIS[@doi:10.1093/database/bax046], and it can be integrated into any website or system with a BrAPI-compatible data source. A breeding database would need to only implement the BrAPI endpoints for Traits, Observations, and Variables, while a genebank would require only Traits and Germplasm Attributes.