Abstract
Response to stress represents a highly complex mechanism in plants involving a plethora of genes and gene families. It has been established that plants use some common set of genes and gene families for both biotic and abiotic stress responses leading to cross-talk phenomena. One such family, Meprin And TRAF Homology (MATH) domain containing protein (MDCP), has been known to be involved in biotic stress response. In this study, we present genome-wide identification of various members of MDCP family from both Arabidopsis and rice. A large number of members identified in Arabidopsis and rice indicate toward an expansion and diversification of MDCP family in both the species. Chromosomal localization of MDCP genes in Arabidopsis and rice reveals their presence in a few specific clusters on various chromosomes such as, chromosome III in Arabidopsis and chromosome X in rice. For the functional analysis of MDCP genes, we used information from publicly available data for plant growth and development as well as biotic stresses and found differential expression of various members of the family. Further, we narrowed down 11 potential candidate genes in rice which showed high expression in various tissues and development stages as well as biotic stress conditions. The expression analysis of these 11 genes in rice using qRT-PCR under drought and salinity stress identified OsM4 and OsMB11 to be highly expressed in both the stress conditions. Taken together, our data indicates that OsM4 and OsMB11 can be used as potential candidates for generating stress resilient crops.
Highlights
Abiotic stress is considered as one of the major factors affecting growth, biomass, and productivity in plants (Singh A. et al, 2015; Joshi et al, 2016a)
We show that MDC proteins along with BTB domain are found in large number in rice than in Arabidopsis
One of the members identified in such strategic analysis toward salt stress led to the identification of Meprin And Tumor necrosis factor-Receptor Associated Factors (TRAFs) Homology (MATH)-domain family which has been earlier known for their role in the plant/microbe interaction
Summary
Abiotic stress is considered as one of the major factors affecting growth, biomass, and productivity in plants (Singh A. et al, 2015; Joshi et al, 2016a). It has been well established that osmotic stress in plants triggers turgor loss, membrane disorganization, protein denaturation and production of reactive oxygen species (Joshi et al, 2014). This situation further causes inhibition of photosynthesis, damage of cellular organelles and MATH-Domain Family Role in Abiotic Stress metabolic dysfunction resulting in growth retardation, reduced fertility, and premature senescence, causing severe yield losses (Joshi et al, 2016b). Plants tolerant to salinity may be tolerant to the drought stress or vice-versa (Farooq and Azam, 2001)
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