De novo transcriptome dataset of the cyanogenic fern Phlebodium aureum ‘Mandaianum’

This dataset presents the first transcriptome for <i>Phlebodium aureum</i> 'Mandaianum', a naturally cyanogenic fern known for producing an (<i>R</i>)-selective hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) enzyme. Total RNA was extracted from frond tissue and sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Following quality control processes, the reads were assembled <i>de novo</i> into 76 562 transcripts. The transcripts had a mean sequence length of 954 bp and an N50 of 1 427 bp. BUSCO analysis showed that 76.5 % of genes were complete, 16.5 % were fragmented, and 7 % were missing. The translated transcriptome was then annotated with COG, GO, EC, KEGG and Pfam using eggNOG Mapper. This resource will support the identification of the HNL gene for heterologous expression, the investigation of genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and the exploration of metabolic pathways in ferns. It also serves as a reference for comparative transcriptomics, evolutionary studies, and functional genomics in related plant taxa.