De novo assembly and characterization of transcriptome using Illumina paired-end sequencing and identification of CesA gene in ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud)

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to characterize the ramie transcriptome and the substantial amount of transcripts obtained will accelerate the understanding of the ramie vegetative growth and development mechanism. Moreover, discovery of the 36 CesA genes with relatively high expression levels in the stem bark will present an opportunity to understand the ramie bast fiber formation and development mechanisms.