Full-Length Transcriptome Sequencing and Different Chemotype Expression Profile Analysis of Genes Related to Monoterpenoid Biosynthesis in Cinnamomum porrectum

Abstract

Leaves of <i>C. porrectum</i> are rich in essential oils containing monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and aromatic compounds, but the molecular mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis in <i>C. porrectum</i> is still unclear. In this paper, the differences in the contents and compositions of terpenoids among three chemotypes were analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Furthermore, the differential expression of gene transcripts in the leaf tissues of the three <i>C. porrectum</i> chemotypes were analyzed through a comparison of full-length transcriptomes and expression profiles. The essential oil of the three <i>C. porrectum</i> chemotypes leaves was mainly composed of monoterpenes. In the full-length transcriptome of <i>C. porrectum</i>, 104,062 transcripts with 306,337,921 total bp, an average length of 2944 bp, and an N50 length of 5449 bp, were obtained and 94025 transcripts were annotated. In the eucalyptol and linalool chemotype, the camphor and eucalyptol chemotype, and the camphor and linalool chemotype comparison groups, 21, 22 and 18 terpene synthase (TPS) unigenes were identified respectively. Three monoterpene synthase genes, <i>CpTPS3, CpTPS5 and CpTPS9,</i> were upregulated in the eucalyptol chemotype compared to the linalool chemotype and camphor chemotype. <i>CpTPS1</i> was upregulated in the camphor chemotype compared to the linalool chemotype and the eucalyptol chemotype. <i>CpTPS4</i> was upregulated in the linalool chemotype compared to the camphor chemotype and the eucalyptol chemotype. Different unigenes had different expression levels among the three chemotypes, but the unigene expression levels of the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4phosphate (MEP) pathway were generally higher than those of the mevalonate acid (MVA) pathway. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR) further validated these expression levels. The present study provides new clues for the functional exploration of the terpenoid synthesis mechanism and key genes in different chemotypes of <i>C. porrectum</i>.