AraceaeDB: a functional genomics database of the Araceae family with a focus on konjac glucomannan biosynthesis in Amorphophallus konjac corms

Abstract

Amorphophallus konjac, as a significant representative of the Araceae family, demonstrates considerable potential for applications in medicine, healthcare, food, industry, and bioenergy due to its rich content of konjac glucomannan (KGM). However, the synthetic pathway of KGM remains largely unclear. Although genomic sequencing has been completed for various representative Araceae plants, including Amorphophallus konjac, a comprehensive data platform for deep analysis and exploration of the functions of these genes is lacking. In the current work, genomic and transcriptomic data from multiple Araceae species were integrated, and a database, AraceaeDB (http://www.araceaedb.com/), was constructed specifically for analyzing and comparing gene functions in Araceae plants. The gene functions in the database were annotated in detail, and their ortholog groups were identified and classified into different functional modules based on their expression patterns across various transcriptomic datasets. Multiple functional genomics analysis tools were developed, including OrthoGroup analysis, BLAST search, co-expression analysis, KEGG/GO enrichment analysis, and the JBrowse visualization tool. Moreover, the database incorporates several medicinally significant bioactive compounds traditionally important in the Araceae family, providing target prediction capabilities for these compounds. Furthermore, the major biosynthetic pathway of KGM has been successfully elucidated through these database resources, and a key gene AkCSL3 has been identified. It has been further confirmed that overexpression of AkCSL3 can significantly increase the content of KGM, suggesting its potential crucial role in the polymerization process of glucomannan in konjac corms.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Sichuan Provincial Innovation Team Project of National Modern Agricultural Technology System (SC-CXTD-2024-12), Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province of China (24NSFSC4914) and Doctoral Scientific Fund Project of Southwest University of Science and Technology (23zx7145).

Author contributions

S.C. and Y.H. analysed data and wrote the paper. S.C., Y.H., Y.C., Z.J.L., L.G.R., L.M.T., M.Z., and B.Y.W. contributed study materials and the data analysis; S.L.H., and Y.C. contributed to the interpretation of the results and provided feedback on the manuscript.

Data availability

The supplementary material contains comprehensive data that substantiates the conclusions drawn from this study.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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