Characterization of Giant Reed Leaf Transcriptome for its Development as a Biofuel Feedstock

Giant reed (Arundo donax) is a potential candidate energy crop for use in biofuels production in biorefineries due to its high productivity, adaptability to marginal land, and suitability for biofuel production. However, the resources available for its improvement are still limited. The team of Chiara Evangelistella from the University of Tuscia in Italy used RNA sequencing to characterize giant reed's leaf transcriptome.

The transcriptome was characterized to search for homologous transcripts of genes involved in important metabolic pathways, such as lignin and cellulose biosynthesis. Homologous transcripts of genes involved in stomatal development and those related to stress-associated proteins (SAPs) were also identified. There were  8,364 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers identified and surveyed.

This study provides the first available leaf transcriptome for giant reed. These data will be highly useful for studying the mechanisms underlying its extreme adaptability. The identification of homologous transcripts of metabolic pathways also offers a platform for genetic improvement.