Dataset Information

De novo transcriptome sequencing in Monsonia burkeana revealed putative genes for key metabolic pathways involved in tea quality and medicinal value.

ABSTRACT: Monsonia (Monsonia burkeana Planch. ex Harv) is one of the most valuable tea and traditional medicinal plants used in Southern Africa. In spite of this, there is no sequence information regarding this plant in literature. To provide understanding of the naturally occurring tea and drug-specific products and the key pathways for the biosynthesis of these molecules, we sequenced the leaf transcriptome using Illumina MiSeq platform and generated 2,590,652 paired-end reads that were assembled de novo into 45,450 high-quality transcripts. Annotation of these transcripts revealed best hits for homology to discover more than 17,800 functional genes and conserved domains. A total of 93 KEGG pathways and associated genes encoded by more than 90% of the coding transcripts are responsible for the biosynthesis of these life-saving metabolites. We validated and enriched the genes by GO annotation and linked this to enzyme-powered pathways through interactive network map. Caffeine metabolism, flavonoid, phenylpropanoid and terpenoids biosynthesis and xenobiotics degradation were typical in tea quality and drug therapy. The relatedness of more than 80 gene families encoding key enzymes was shown using unrooted phylogenetic tree. In conclusion, the M. burkeana leaf transcriptome gives insight into tea and drug-specific products, therefore representing basis in further investigation of the plant.

SUBMITTER: Woldesemayat AA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5116299 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

De novo transcriptome sequencing in Monsonia burkeana revealed putative genes for key metabolic pathways involved in tea quality and medicinal value.

Woldesemayat Adugna A AA Ntushelo Khayalethu K Modise David M DM

3 Biotech 20161119 2

Monsonia (Monsonia burkeana Planch. ex Harv) is one of the most valuable tea and traditional medicinal plants used in Southern Africa. In spite of this, there is no sequence information regarding this plant in literature. To provide understanding of the naturally occurring tea and drug-specific products and the key pathways for the biosynthesis of these molecules, we sequenced the leaf transcriptome using Illumina MiSeq platform and generated 2,590,652 paired-end reads that were assembled de nov ...[more]

PMID: 28330322

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundCamellia taliensis is one of the most important wild relatives of cultivated tea tree, C. sinensis. The species extensively occupies mountainous habitats representing a wide-range abiotic tolerance and biotic resistance and thus harbors valuable gene resources that may greatly benefit genetic improvement of cultivated tea tree. However, owning to a large genome size of ~3 Gb and structurally complex genome, there are fairly limited genetic information and particularly few genomic resources publicly available for this species. To better understand the key pathways determining tea flavor and enhance tea tree breeding programs, we performed a high-throughput transcriptome sequencing for C. taliensis.ResultsIn this study, approximate 241.5 million high-quality paired-end reads, accounting for ~24 Gb of sequence data, were generated from tender shoots, young leaves, flower buds and flowers using Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. De novo assembly with further processing and filtering yielded a set of 67,923 transcripts with an average length of 685 bp and an N50 of 995 bp. Based on sequence similarity searches against public databases, a total of 39,475 transcripts were annotated with gene descriptions, conserved protein domains or gene ontology (GO) terms. Candidate genes for major metabolic pathways involved in tea quality were identified and experimentally validated using RT-qPCR. Further gene expression profiles showed that they are differentially regulated at different developmental stages. To gain insights into the evolution of these genes, we aligned them to the previously cloned orthologous genes in C. sinensis, and found that considerable nucleotide variation within several genes involved in important secondary metabolic biosynthesis pathways, of which flavone synthase II gene (FNSII) is the most variable between these two species. Moreover, comparative analyses revealed that C. taliensis shows a remarkable expansion of LEA genes, compared to C. sinensis, which might contribute to the observed stronger stress resistance of C. taliensis.ConclusionWe reported the first large-coverage transcriptome datasets for C. taliensis using the next-generation sequencing technology. Such comprehensive EST datasets provide an unprecedented opportunity for identifying genes involved in several major metabolic pathways and will accelerate functional genomic studies and genetic improvement efforts of tea trees in the future.

Project description:BackgroundLophophora williamsii (commonly named peyote) is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. Peyote utilizes crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), an alternative form of photosynthesis that exists in succulents such as cacti and other desert plants. Therefore, its transcriptome can be considered an important resource for future research focused on understanding how these plants make more efficient use of water in marginal environments and also for research focused on better understanding of the overall mechanisms leading to production of plant natural products and secondary metabolites.ResultsIn this study, two cDNA libraries were generated from L. williamsii. These libraries, representing buttons (tops of stems) and roots were sequenced using different sequencing platforms (GS-FLX, GS-Junior and PGM, respectively). A total of 5,541,550 raw reads were generated, which were assembled into 63,704 unigenes with an average length of 564.04 bp. A total of 25,149 unigenes (62.19 %) was annotated using public databases. 681 unigenes were found to be differentially expressed when comparing the two libraries, where 400 were preferentially expressed in buttons and 281 in roots. Some of the major alkaloids, including mescaline, were identified by GC-MS and relevant metabolic pathways were reconstructed using the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes database (KEGG). Subsequently, the expression patterns of preferentially expressed genes putatively involved in mescaline production were examined and validated by qRT-PCR.ConclusionsHigh throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis allowed us to efficiently identify candidate genes involved in mescaline biosynthetic pathway in L. williamsii; these included tyrosine/DOPA decarboxylase, hydroxylases, and O-methyltransferases. This study sets the theoretical foundation for bioassay design directed at confirming the participation of these genes in mescaline production.

Dataset Information

De novo transcriptome sequencing in Monsonia burkeana revealed putative genes for key metabolic pathways involved in tea quality and medicinal value.

Publications

De novo transcriptome sequencing in Monsonia burkeana revealed putative genes for key metabolic pathways involved in tea quality and medicinal value.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets