Abstract
Banana is one of the most important fruit crops consumed globally owing to its high nutritional value. Previously, we demonstrated that the ripe pulp of the banana cultivar (cv.) Nendran (AAB) contained a high amount of pro-vitamin A carotenoids. However, the molecular factors involved in the ripening process in Nendran fruit are unexplored. Hence, we commenced a transcriptome study by using the Illumina HiSeq 2500 at two stages i.e. unripe and ripe fruit-pulp of Nendran. Overall, 3474 up and 4727 down-regulated genes were obtained. A large number of identified transcripts were related to genes involved in ripening, cell wall degradation and aroma formation. Gene ontology analysis highlighted differentially expressed genes that play a key role in various pathways. These pathways were mainly linked to cellular, molecular and biological processes. The present transcriptome study also reveals a crucial role of up-regulated carotenoid biosynthesis pathway genes namely, lycopene beta cyclase and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase at the ripening stage. Genes related to the ripening and other processes like aroma and flavor were highly expressed in the ripe pulp. Expression of numerous transcription factor family genes was also identified. This study lays a path towards understanding the ripening, carotenoid accumulation and other related processes in banana.
Highlights
Banana is amongst one of the most essential staple food cultivated in both tropical and subtropical countries and consumed worldwide [1]
Nendran provides a comprehensive landscape of differentially expressed genes that are mostly associated with ripening, carotenoid biosynthesis, aroma and other related processes
The expression data acquired by RNA-seq were validated by Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis
Summary
Banana is amongst one of the most essential staple food cultivated in both tropical and subtropical countries and consumed worldwide [1]. The banana plant is a flowering monocot belonging to the family Musaceae and mainly originated from intra- and inter-cross among Musa acuminata (A genome) and Musa balbisiana (B genome) [2]. This resulted in several genome groups viz. AA, AB, AAA, AAB, ABB, AABB, AAAB and ABBB [3]. Ripening process in banana leads to various changes in gene expression that results in changes in flavor, texture and color of these fruits [4, 5].
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