Leaf Transcriptome Assembly of <i>Protium copal</i> (Burseraceae) and Annotation of Terpene Biosynthetic Genes

• Main Authors: Gabriel Damasco, Vikram S. Shivakumar, Tracy M. Misciewicz, Douglas C. Daly, Paul V. A. Fine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
• Series: Genes
• Subjects: RNA-sequencing; de novo assembly; <i>Protium</i>; terpenoid; copal resin
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/10/5/392

Plants in the Burseraceae are globally recognized for producing resins and essential oils with medicinal properties and have economic value. In addition, most of the aromatic and non-aromatic components of Burseraceae resins are derived from a variety of terpene and terpenoid chemicals. Although terpene genes have been identified in model plant crops (e.g., <i>Citrus</i>, <i>Arabidopsis</i>), very few genomic resources are available for non-model groups, including the highly diverse Burseraceae family. Here we report the assembly of a leaf transcriptome of <i>Protium copal</i>, an aromatic tree that has a large distribution in Central America, describe the functional annotation of putative terpene biosynthetic genes and compare terpene biosynthetic genes found in <i>P. copal</i> with those identified in other Burseraceae taxa. The genomic resources of <i>Protium copal</i> can be used to generate novel sequencing markers for population genetics and comparative phylogenetic studies, and to investigate the diversity and evolution of terpene genes in the Burseraceae.