Abstract
BackgroundZanthoxylum armatum (Z. armatum) is a highly economically important tree that presents a special numbing taste. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism of the numbing taste remains poorly understood. Thus, the elucidation of the key genes associated with numbing taste biosynthesis pathways is critical for providing genetic information on Z. armatumand the breeding of high-quality germplasms of this species.ResultsHere, de novo transcriptome assembly was performed for the five major organs of Z. armatum, including the roots, stems, leaf buds, mature leaves and fruits. A total of 111,318 unigenes were generated with an average length of 1014 bp. Additionally, a large number of SSRs were obtained to improve our understanding of the phylogeny and genetics of Z. armatum. The organ-specific unigenes of the five major samples were screened and annotated via GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. A total of 53 and 34 unigenes that were exclusively upregulated in fruit samples were identified as candidate unigenes for terpenoid biosynthesis or fatty acid biosynthesis, elongation and degradation pathways, respectively. Moreover, 40 days after fertilization (Fr4 stage) could be an important period for the accumulation of terpenoid compounds during the fruit development and maturation of Z. armatum. The Fr4 stage could be a key point at which the first few steps of the fatty acid biosynthesis process are promoted, and the catalysis of subsequent reactions could be significantly induced at 62 days after fertilization (Fr6 stage).ConclusionsThe present study realized de novo transcriptome assembly for the five major organs of Z. armatum. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive analysis revealing the genes underlying the special numbing taste of Z. armatum. The assembled transcriptome profiles expand the available genetic information on this species and will contribute to gene functional studies, which will aid in the engineering of high-quality cultivars of Z. armatum.
Highlights
Zanthoxylum armatum (Z. armatum) is a highly economically important tree that presents a special numbing taste
The error rate of RNA-seq was only approximately 0.02%, all of the Q30 values were greater than 93.90%, and the GC content was above 43% in each sample
The present study achieved de novo transcriptome assembly for five major organs in Z. armatum
Summary
Zanthoxylum armatum (Z. armatum) is a highly economically important tree that presents a special numbing taste. The underlying regulatory mechanism of the numbing taste remains poorly understood. The elucidation of the key genes associated with numbing taste biosynthesis pathways is critical for providing genetic information on Z. armatumand the breeding of high-quality germplasms of this species. The underlying regulatory mechanism of the genes associated with the numbing taste remains poorly understood. The elucidation of the keygenes associated with numbing taste biosynthesis pathways, especially those responsible for the accumulation of the main compounds involved, is critical for revealing genetic information for this species and breeding highquality Z. armatum germplasms
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