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Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis), an anciently consumed stimulant from the Amazon rain forest: the seeded-fruit transcriptome

  • Genetics and Genomics
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Abstract

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft-drink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid pathways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology and CNPq, process no 48.0120/2002-1. We are thankful to Ana Lúcia Assad, Flávio Neves Bittencourt, and Juçara Parra for the invaluable help and support on this project. We are grateful to Maria do Perpetuo Socorro Lira and Firmino José do Nascimento Filho for access to the Guarana Germoplasm Bank at Embrapa Western Amazon. The authors are thankful for critical and constructive suggestions for the article by Prof. Charles R. Clement and Rosa de Nazaré Silva Clement. We are also grateful for help in the sequencing and/or annotation by Andréa Vernes Fernandes, Jonso V. Souza, Maria Silvanira R. Barbosa, Marta Sofia Peixe Carepo, Rafaela Carvalho de Souza, and Viviane Basso Chiesa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa Western Amazon, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Paula C. S. Ângelo & André L. Atroch

  2. Centro de Apoio Multidisciplinar, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Av. Gal. Rodrigo Octávio Jordão, 3000, CEP 69.077-000, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Carlos G. Nunes-Silva, Enedina N. Assunção, Danival V. Freitas, Edmar V. Andrade, Luciana Leomil, José O. Pereira, Marcicleide L. Silva & Spartaco Astolfi-Filho

  3. Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Marcelo M. Brígido, Maria E. M. T. Walter, Daniel A. S. Anjos & Rodrigo C. M. Coimbra

  4. Laboratório de Polimorfismo de DNA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil

    Juliana S. N. Azevedo, Artur Silva & Maria Paula C. Schneider

  5. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Alexandra R. B. Sousa, Ana Fabíola P. N. Souza, Jaqueline S. Batista, Silvana C. Pando, José F. C. Gonçalves & Jorge I. R. Porto

  6. Centro de Ciência Biológica e Saúde, Universidade Federal de Maranhão, São Luiz, Maranhão, Brazil

    Fernando J. B. Patrício, Andréya Márcya H. A. Viana, Magda H. N. Barbosa & Emygdia R. R. B. P. Leal-Mesquita

  7. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Roraima, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil

    Mailson M. Rego & Pablo O. A. Acosta

  8. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amapá, Macapa, Amapá, Brazil

    Jean C. C. Peixoto

  9. Laboratório de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil

    Waldesse P. Oliveira Jr. & Márcio A. da Silveira

  10. Embrapa Natural Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Elionor R. P. Almeida

  11. Instituto de Pesquisa em Patologias Tropicais, IPEPATRO, Porto Velho, Rondonia, Brazil

    Eduardo Honda, Soraya S. Pereira, Francisca J. Holanda & Weber C. Batista

  12. Unidade de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Ribeirão Preto, UNAERP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

    Mozart Marins & Suzelei C. França

  13. Departamento de Ciências da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil

    Rusleyd M. M. Abreu & Margarida L. Carvalho

Authors
  1. Paula C. S. Ângelo
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  2. Carlos G. Nunes-Silva
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  3. Marcelo M. Brígido
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  6. Alexandra R. B. Sousa
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  11. Danival V. Freitas
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  14. Ana Fabíola P. N. Souza
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  17. Jaqueline S. Batista
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  18. Maria E. M. T. Walter
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  27. Marcicleide L. Silva
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  29. Francisca J. Holanda
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  30. Rusleyd M. M. Abreu
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  31. Silvana C. Pando
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  32. José F. C. Gonçalves
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  33. Margarida L. Carvalho
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  34. Emygdia R. R. B. P. Leal-Mesquita
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  35. Márcio A. da Silveira
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  36. Weber C. Batista
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  37. André L. Atroch
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  38. Suzelei C. França
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  39. Jorge I. R. Porto
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  40. Maria Paula C. Schneider
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  41. Spartaco Astolfi-Filho
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Consortia

Brazilian Amazon Consortium for Genomic Research (REALGENE)

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Spartaco Astolfi-Filho.

Additional information

Communicated by H. Judelson.

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Ângelo, P.C.S., Nunes-Silva, C.G., Brígido, M.M. et al. Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis), an anciently consumed stimulant from the Amazon rain forest: the seeded-fruit transcriptome. Plant Cell Rep 27, 117–124 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-007-0456-y

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