Differentially expressed genes analysis of terpenoid biosynthesis related to aril development in Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.

To research differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to terpenoid biosynthesis in the developmental process of aril in Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb., three cDNA libraries from three stages (full blooming, flower senescence, and young fruit) were established and then sequenced by Illumina HiSeq^TM 2000. RNA-Seq was assembled into 87 600 unigenes with a mean length of 453 bp and N50/N90 of 4.46. By differential expression analysis of pairwise comparisons and functional enrichment, 21 DEGs were confirmed to have highly differential expression related to terpenoid biosynthesis. Among them, eight genes regulated the metabolism of seven terpenoid synthetases. We also identified seven transcription factor families and high expression genes associated with terpenoid synthesis.