Abstract
Rapeseed is the third-largest source of plant oil and one of the essential oil plants worldwide. Cold stress is one of the critical factors that affect plant yield. Therefore, improving cold stress tolerance is necessary for yield increase. The present study investigated BnCAT1 and BnCSD1 genes’ expression behavior in a tolerant and sensitive cultivar under cold stress (4 °C). Besides, protein-protein interaction networks of CATs and CSDs enzymes, and their association with other antioxidant enzymes were analyzed. Moreover, the microRNAs targeting BnCAT1 and BnCSD1 genes were predicted. This study indicated many direct and indirect interactions and the association between the components of the plant antioxidant system. However, not only did the CATs and CSDs enzymes have a relationship with each other, but they also interacted directly with ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase enzymes. Also, 23 and 35 effective microRNAs were predicted for BnCAT1 and BnCSD1 genes, respectively. The gene expression results indicated an elevated expression of BnCAT1 and BnCSD1 in both tolerant and sensitive cultivars. However, this increase was more noticeable in the tolerant cultivar. Thus, the BnCSD1 gene had the highest expression in the early hour of cold stress, especially in the 12th h, and the BnCAT1 gene showed the highest expression in the 48th h. This result may indicate a functional relationship between these enzymes.
Highlights
Rapeseed has a significant place among annual oilseeds and is considered the most important annual oil plant in temperate, cold, and humid regions
This study investigates the protein interactions between enzymes involved in the rapeseed’s antioxidant system
This study identified and investigated the antioxidant system’s possible interactions and microRNAs targeting BnCAT1 and BnCSD1 genes using online databases
Summary
Rapeseed has a significant place among annual oilseeds and is considered the most important annual oil plant in temperate, cold, and humid regions. Abiotic stresses (drought, flood, salinity, oxidative, cold, heat, heavy metals) are the leading cause of global crop decline. They are responsible for the reduced yields of more than 50% of primary agricultural products (Raza et al, 2019, 2020a). Cold stress is one of the main factors limiting the growth and production of crops; increasing crop cold tolerance is crucial to increase crop yield. Cold causes oxidative stress and leads to lipid peroxidation and chlorophyll degradation. Cold stress tolerance is associated with increased antioxidant activity and decreased hydrogen peroxide accumulation (Xie et al, 2019). Cold stress in plants is typically classified as chilling (above 0–15 °C) and freezing (below 0 °C) (Thomashow, 1999)
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