Long-read sequencing of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. ‘Hangju’ transcriptome reveals flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation
Abstract Background: The inflorescence of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. ‘Hangju’ has been widely used in China due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The biosynthesis and regulation of flavonoids, a group of bioactive components, in C. morifolium are poorly understood. Transcriptome sequencing is an effective method for obtaining transcript information. Therefore, single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing was performed to obtain the full-length genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in C. morifolium. Results: High-quality RNA was extracted from the inflorescence of C. morifolium at different developmental stages and used to construct two libraries (0-5 kb and 4.5-10 kb) for sequencing. Finally, 125,532 non-redundant isoforms with a mean length of 2,009 bp were obtained. Of these, 2,083 transcripts were annotated to pathways related to flavonoid biosynthesis, and 56 isoforms were annotated as CHS, CHI, F3H, F3’H, FNS Ⅱ, FLS, DFR and ANS genes. Based on gene expression levels at different stages, we predicted the major genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. By phylogenetic analysis, we found two candidate MYB transcription factors (CmMYBF1 and CmMYBF2) activating flavonol biosynthesis. Conclusions: Based on the full-length transcriptomic data and further quantitative analysis, the major genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in C. morifolium were predicted in our study. The results provide a valuable theoretical basis for the introduction and cultivation of C. morifolium cv. ‘Hangju’.