Transcriptomic reveals key genes and regulatory pathways in galactomannan biosynthesis in polysaccharide gum.

Introduction: The Lam. polysaccharide gum contained in seeds is not only an additive specified in national food standards, but also an important strategic resource for industrial raw materials such as oil and natural gas in China.The main component of polysaccharide gum is galactomannan (GM). To date, most studies have focused on the structural modification and component separation of the polysaccharide gum of seeds, with only a few reports on the regulatory genes involved in its formation.

Methods: Transcriptome analysis was performed to assess the gene networks associated with GM synthesis in seeds at four stages: 6, 9, 12, and 16 weeks after flowering.

Results: The result indicated that differential expression analysis identified 20 unigenes linked to five critical enzymes in the GM biosynthesis pathway. Further pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that fructokinase, galactose gyrase, inositol galactoside synthase, phosphogalactosyltransferase, and raffinose synthase play pivotal roles in GM biosynthesis, positively regulating its production.

Discussion: The results of this study provide new ideas for the research of GM biosynthesis related genes in and enhance the potential application prospects in genetic engineering.