GENOME-WIDE DISCOVERY OF STRESS-RESPONSIVE GENES FOR CROP ADAPTATION AND IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

Abiotic stresses such as droughts, salt and extreme temperatures limit crop productivity hugely and they are a significant challenge to food security in the world. It is thus of great importance to explain the stress toleration in a molecular basis in order to develop climate-resilient crops. Here, the entire genome study has been conducted to determine and describe stress-related genes with particular attention to the stress-associated protein (SAP) family of genes. The transcriptomic data were subjected to the analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under the stress conditions and then the functional annotation was conducted by the methods of Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment. A number of 23 candidate genes were selected and the expression of these genes was different with different stress treatment. Phylogeneic characterization identified these genes as the part of conserved clusters and analysis of gene structure and motifs showed typical A20/AN1 zinc finger motifs linked to regulation of stress. Functional enrichment showed that there is a major implication in abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated signal transduction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification. Some of the important genes were highly up-regulated implying their important role in the adaptive mechanisms of stress. The integrative analysis that is provided in this study gives a methodological perception of stress-responsive gene networks and locates the potential candidate genes as a way of genetic enhancement. These discoveries provide useful information in the molecular breeding and biotechnological treatment to increase crop resistance in unfavorable environmental conditions.