Full-Length Transcriptome Sequencing Provides Insights into Flavonoid Biosynthesis in Fritillaria hupehensis

Abstract

One of the most commonly utilized medicinal plants in China is Fritillaria hupehensis (Hsiao et K.C. Hsia). However, due to a lack of genomic resources, little is known about the biosynthesis of relevant compounds, particularly the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. A PacBio RS II sequencing generated a total of 342,044 reads from the bulb, leaf, root, and stem, of which 316,438 were full-length (FL) non-redundant reads with an average length of 1365 bp and a N50 of 1888 bp. There were also 38,607 long non-coding RNAs and 7914 simple sequence repeats detected. To improve our understanding of processes implicated in regulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis in F. hupehensis tissues, we evaluated potential metabolic pathways. Overall, this study provides a repertoire of FL transcripts in F. hupehensis for the first time, and it will be a valuable resource for marker-assisted breeding and research into bioactive compounds for medicinal and pharmacological applications.