De novo sequencing, assembly and characterisation of Aloe vera transcriptome and analysis of expression profiles of genes related to saponin and anthraquinone metabolism.

Background: Aloe vera is a perennial, succulent, drought-resistant plant that exhibits many pharmacological characteristics such as wound healing ability against skin burns, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-asthmatic and much more. Despite great medicinal worth, little genomic information is available on Aloe vera. This study is an initiative to explore the full-scale functional genomics of Aloe vera by generating whole transcriptome sequence database, using Illumina HiSeq technology and its progressive annotation specifically with respect to the metabolic specificity of the plant.