Unravelling molecular mechanisms from floral initiation to lipid biosynthesis in a promising biofuel tree species, Pongamia pinnata using transcriptome analysis

Pongamia pinnata (L.) (Fabaceae) is a promising biofuel tree species which is underexploited in the areas of both fundamental and applied research, due to the lack of information either on transcriptome or genomic data. To investigate the possible metabolic pathways, we performed whole transcriptome analysis of Pongamia through Illumina NextSeq platform and generated 2.8 GB of paired end sequence reads. The de novo assembly of raw reads generated 40,000 contigs and 35,000 transcripts, representing leaf, flower and seed unigenes. Spatial and temporal expression profiles of photoperiod and floral homeotic genes in Pongamia, identified GIGANTEA (GI) - CONSTANS (CO) - FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) as active signal cascade for floral initiation. Four prominent stages of seed development were selected in a high yielding Pongamia accession (TOIL 1) to follow the temporal expression patterns of key fatty acid biosynthetic genes involved in lipid biosynthesis and accumulation. Our results provide insights into an array of molecular events from flowering to seed maturity in Pongamia which will provide substantial basis for modulation of fatty acid composition and enhancing oil yields which should serve as a potential feedstock for biofuel production.