Transcriptomic profiling to investigate the therapeutic potential and medicinal properties of Momordica cymbalaria

Momordica cymbalaria (Athalakkai), a medicinally important Cucurbitaceae species, is widely used in traditional medicine due to its antidiabetic, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic potential remain poorly understood. Here, we present a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of M. cymbalaria using Illumina HiSeq 4000 sequencing of leaf, fruit, and seed tissues. De novo assembly generated 450,785 contigs (N50: 460 bp) with 72,283 annotated unigenes. Our key findings reveal pivotal genes involved in the biosynthesis of pharmaceutically relevant secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, steroids, and isoquinoline alkaloids. Notably, enzymes such as hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase, cycloeucalenol cycloisomerase, and tyrosine aminotransferase were recognized as central to these pathways. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis has classified the transcripts into molecular functions (181,789), biological processes (242,672), and cellular components (126,350). We further characterized 5,025 transcription factors, with bHLH, MYB, and WRKY families being prominently associated with secondary metabolism regulation. Tissue-specific expression patterns were identified and validated by qRT-PCR, showing eminent metabolic activity in leaves and fruits compared to seeds. This study provides the first genomic resource for M. cymbalaria, offering molecular insights into its medicinal properties and facilitating future biotechnological applications in drug discovery.