De novo sequencing and transcriptome analysis of Indian Bael (Aegle marmelos L.)

Aegle marmelos (L.) also known as Bael is a medicinally important tree known for its antidiabetic properties. It is considered as a sacred plant but lacks sufficient genomic and transcriptomic resources. The present study investigated functional profile of A. marmelos via RNA sequencing technology. The denovo transcriptome sequencing and assembly of 4.7 million high quality reads yielded 27,393 unigenes, which were annotated against the databases such as NCBI (National Centre for Biotechnology Information), NR (Non redundant) database, KEGG, Pfam (Protein Family), CDD (Conserved Domains database) and Uniprot. The annotation of assembled transcripts showed a total of 1291 transcripts mapped to 81 different transcription factor families, whereas 55 transcripts were assigned to CYP450 belonging to 21 different classes. KEGG mapping showed transcripts involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoids, flavonoids, including transcripts for synthesis of important compounds like Vitamin E, 4-coumarate and Vitamin K epoxide. 1211 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified which may aid in molecular breeding studies. The study provides an insight into the expression profile of Bael and an opportunity for future genomic and metabolic studies in A.marmelos.