Abiotic Stress Tolerance Research Articles

Characterization of the pyruvate kinase gene family in soybean and identification of a putative salt responsive gene GmPK21.

As a key regulatory enzyme in the glycolysis pathway, pyruvate kinase (PK) plays crucial roles in multiple physiological processes during plant growth and is also involved in the abiotic stress response. However, little information is known about PKs in soybean. In this study, we identified 27 PK family genes against the genome of soybean cultivar Zhonghuang13. They were classified into 2 subfamilies including PKc and PKp. 22 segmental duplicated gene pairs and 1 tandem duplicated gene pair were identified and all of them experienced a strong purifying selective pressure during evolution. Furthermore, the abiotic stresses (especially salt stress) and hormone responsive cis-elements were present in the promoters of GmPK genes, suggesting their potential roles in abiotic stress tolerance. By performing the qRT-PCR, 6 GmPK genes that continuously respond to both NaCl and ABA were identified. Subsequently, GmPK21, which represented the most significant change under NaCl treatment was chosen for further study. Its encoded protein GmPK21 was localized in the cytoplasm and plasma membrane. The transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing GmPK21 exhibitedweakenedsalinitytolerance. This study provides genomic information of soybean PK genes and a molecular basis for mining salt tolerance function of PKs in the future.

Heterogeneous Expression of Arabidopsis Subclass II of SNF1-Related Kinase 2 Improves Drought Tolerance via Stomatal Regulation in Poplar.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is the most important phytohormone involved in the response to drought stress. Subclass II of SNF1-related kinase 2 (SnRK2) is an important signaling kinase related to ABA signal transduction. It regulates the phosphorylation of the target transcription factors controlling the transcription of a wide range of ABA-responsive genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. The transgenic poplars (Populus tremula × P. tremuloides, clone T89) ectopically overexpressing AtSnRK2.8, encoding a subclass II SnRK2 kinase of A. thaliana, have been engineered but almost no change in its transcriptome was observed. In this study, we evaluated osmotic stress tolerance and stomatal behavior of the transgenic poplars maintained in the netted greenhouse. The transgenic poplars, line S22, showed a significantly higher tolerance to 20% PEG treatment than non-transgenic controls. The stomatal conductance of the transgenic poplars tended to be lower than the non-transgenic control. Microscopic observations of leaf imprints revealed that the transgenic poplars had significantly higher stomatal closures under the stress treatment than the non-transgenic control. In addition, the stomatal index was lower in the transgenic poplars than in the non-transgenic controls regardless of the stress treatment. These results suggested that AtSnRK2.8 is involved in the regulation of stomatal behavior. Furthermore, the transgenic poplars overexpressing AtSnRK2.8 might have improved abiotic stress tolerance through this stomatal regulation.

Comprehensive Analysis of the DnaJ/HSP40 Gene Family in Maize (Zea mays L.) Reveals that ZmDnaJ96 Enhances Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Comprehensive Analysis of the DnaJ/HSP40 Gene Family in Maize (Zea mays L.) Reveals that ZmDnaJ96 Enhances Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Imidacloprid triggered changes in strawberry fruits on edible quality and phenolic profiles by applied at two growth stages

Increasing evidence showed that imidacloprid affects plants’ abiotic or biotic stress tolerance. However, the effects of imidacloprid on the quality of fruits remain elusive. This work aimed to study the effects of imidacloprid applied at different growth stages on the edible quality and phenolic profile of strawberry fruit in the field experiment. For the first time, lower fruit quality was observed in the mature strawberry fruits after imidacloprid treatment at the fruit-bearing completion stage (five days after pollination). Compared to the control group, the mature strawberry fruit wights and the SCC/TA ratio declined about 18.2–30.0 % and 10.3–16.8 %, respectively. However, those attributes did not occur in the mature strawberry fruits by imidacloprid treatment at the fruit maturation stage (30 days after pollination). Among the 30 phenolic compounds, nine presented significant up-regulation or down-regulation after imidacloprid application at two different growth stages, suggesting that the application period played an essential role in evaluating the effects of imidacloprid on the quality of fruits. A significant effect on fruit quality was presented at the strawberry early growth stage treated by imidacloprid. This study provided a new insight into how and when imidacloprid affects the quality of strawberry fruits, contributing to the future’s more scientific application of imidacloprid on strawberries.

MicroRNA-encoded regulatory peptides modulate cadmium tolerance and accumulation in rice.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs)are small noncoding RNAs that play a vital role in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Recently, it has been discovered that some primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs)encode regulatory short peptides called miPEPs. However, the presence of miPEPs in rice, and their functions in response to abiotic stresses, particularly stress induced by heavy metals, remain poorly understood. Here, we identified a functional small peptide (miPEP156e)encoded by pri-miR156e that regulates the expression of miR156 and its target SPL genes, thereby affecting miR156-mediated cadmium (Cd) tolerance in rice. Overexpression of miPEP156e led to decreased uptake and accumulation of Cd and reactive oxygen species (ROS)levels in plants under Cd stress, resulting in improved rice Cd tolerance, as observed in miR156-overexpressing lines. Conversely, miPEP156e mutants displayed sensitivity to Cd stress due to the elevated accumulation of Cd and ROS. Transcriptome analysis further revealed that miPEP156e improved rice Cd tolerance by modulating Cd transporter genes and ROS scavenging genes. Our study provides insights into the regulatory mechanism of miPEP156e in rice response to Cd stress and demonstrates the potential of miPEPs as an effective tool for improving crop abiotic stress tolerance.

Identification and Characterization of the DREB2C Drought-tolerant Gene in Peanut Cultivar L14 and Genetic Diversity Assessment of Some Peanut Cultivars based on SSR Markers Linked to Drought Tolerance

Background: Peanut is a widely cultivated food crop of the legume family and is a major source of vegetable oil and protein in the global agricultural economy. However, the productivity of peanuts is severely affected by abiotic stress, particularly drought. Therefore, it is necessary to identify genes related to abiotic stress tolerance and analyze genetic diversity by SSR markers related to drought tolerance in peanut varieties. Methods: PCR amplification was used for the isolation of the DREB2C gene. The DREB2C gene sequence was analyzed using bioinformatic tools to identify functional domains, 3D modeling structures and other important characteristics. RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate the expression level of the DREB2C gene in the different tissues of peanut cultivars. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on SSR markers linked to drought tolerance to assess the genetic diversity among peanut cultivars. Result: The present study identified the DREB2C gene in peanut cultivar L14. The gene encodes a polypeptide chain of 492 amino acids lacking transmembrane domains and signal peptides and with a conserved domain (AP2/ERF) and DNA binding site. The 3D protein structure was predicted with high confidence using various tools. The gene expression was investigated in different tissues and at different growth and developmental stages, as well as in various cultivars. Based on SSR markers linked to drought tolerance, the study revealed that peanut cultivars in Vietnam exhibit a medium level of diversity. It may be suggested that cross-breeding between different groups may increase variability among crops, allowing the generation of dominant varieties with improved drought tolerance.

A comprehensive overview of omics-based approaches to enhance biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in sweet potato.

Biotic and abiotic stresses negatively affect the yield and overall plant developmental process, thus causing substantial losses in global sweet potato production. To cope with stresses, sweet potato has evolved numerous strategies to tackle ever-changing surroundings and biological and environmental conditions. The invention of modern sequencing technology and the latest data processing and analysis instruments has paved the way to integrate biological information from different approaches and helps to understand plant system biology more precisely. The advancement in omics technologies has accumulated and provided a great source of information at all levels (genome, transcript, protein, and metabolite) under stressful conditions. These latest molecular tools facilitate us to understand better the plant's responses to stress signaling and help to process/integrate the biological information encoded within the biological system of plants. This review briefly addresses utilizing the latest omics strategies for deciphering the adaptive mechanisms for sweet potatoes' biotic and abiotic stress tolerance via functional genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This information also provides a powerful reference to understand the complex, well-coordinated stress signaling genetic regulatory networks and better comprehend the plant phenotypic responses at the cellular/molecular level under various environmental stimuli, thus accelerating the design of stress-resilient sweet potato via the latest genetic engineering approaches.

Understanding AP2/ERF Transcription Factor Responses and Tolerance to Various Abiotic Stresses in Plants: A Comprehensive Review.

Abiotic stress is an adverse environmental factor that severely affects plant growth and development, and plants have developed complex regulatory mechanisms to adapt to these unfavourable conditions through long-term evolution. In recent years, many transcription factor families of genes have been identified to regulate the ability of plants to respond to abiotic stresses. Among them, the AP2/ERF (APETALA2/ethylene responsive factor) family is a large class of plant-specific proteins that regulate plant response to abiotic stresses and can also play a role in regulating plant growth and development. This paper reviews the structural features and classification of AP2/ERF transcription factors that are involved in transcriptional regulation, reciprocal proteins, downstream genes, and hormone-dependent signalling and hormone-independent signalling pathways in response to abiotic stress. The AP2/ERF transcription factors can synergise with hormone signalling to form cross-regulatory networks in response to and tolerance of abiotic stresses. Many of the AP2/ERF transcription factors activate the expression of abiotic stress-responsive genes that are dependent or independent of abscisic acid and ethylene in response to abscisic acid and ethylene. In addition, the AP2/ERF transcription factors are involved in gibberellin, auxin, brassinosteroid, and cytokinin-mediated abiotic stress responses. The study of AP2/ERF transcription factors and interacting proteins, as well as the identification of their downstream target genes, can provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of plant action in response to abiotic stress, which can improve plants' ability to tolerate abiotic stress and provide a more theoretical basis for increasing plant yield under abiotic stress.

The Ethylene Biosynthetic Enzymes, 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate (ACC) Synthase (ACS) and ACC Oxidase (ACO): The Less Explored Players in Abiotic Stress Tolerance.

Ethylene is an essential plant hormone, critical in various physiological processes. These processes include seed germination, leaf senescence, fruit ripening, and the plant's response to environmental stressors. Ethylene biosynthesis is tightly regulated by two key enzymes, namely 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO). Initially, the prevailing hypothesis suggested that ACS is the limiting factor in the ethylene biosynthesis pathway. Nevertheless, accumulating evidence from various studies has demonstrated that ACO, under specific circumstances, acts as the rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene production. Under normal developmental processes, ACS and ACO collaborate to maintain balanced ethylene production, ensuring proper plant growth and physiology. However, under abiotic stress conditions, such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, or pathogen attack, the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis becomes critical for plants' survival. This review highlights the structural characteristics and examines the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational regulation of ACS and ACO and their role under abiotic stress conditions. Reviews on the role of ethylene signaling in abiotic stress adaptation are available. However, a review delineating the role of ACS and ACO in abiotic stress acclimation is unavailable. Exploring how particular ACS and ACO isoforms contribute to a specific plant's response to various abiotic stresses and understanding how they are regulated can guide the development of focused strategies. These strategies aim to enhance a plant's ability to cope with environmental challenges more effectively.

A genetic screen for dominant chloroplast reactive oxygen species signaling mutants reveals life stage-specific singlet oxygen signaling networks.

Plants employ intricate molecular mechanisms to respond to abiotic stresses, which often lead to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within organelles such as chloroplasts. Such ROS can produce stress signals that regulate cellular response mechanisms. One ROS, singlet oxygen (1O2), is predominantly produced in the chloroplast during photosynthesis and can trigger chloroplast degradation, programmed cell death (PCD), and retrograde (organelle-to-nucleus) signaling. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in these signaling pathways or how many different signaling 1O2 pathways may exist. The Arabidopsis thaliana plastid ferrochelatase two (fc2) mutant conditionally accumulates chloroplast 1O2, making fc2 a valuable genetic system for studying chloroplast 1O2-initiated signaling. Here, we have used activation tagging in a new forward genetic screen to identify eight dominant fc2 activation-tagged (fas) mutations that suppress chloroplast 1O2-initiated PCD. While 1O2-triggered PCD is blocked in all fc2 fas mutants in the adult stage, such cellular degradation in the seedling stage is blocked in only two mutants. This differential blocking of PCD suggests that life-stage-specific 1O2-response pathways exist. In addition to PCD, fas mutations generally reduce 1O2-induced retrograde signals. Furthermore, fas mutants have enhanced tolerance to excess light, a natural mechanism to produce chloroplast 1O2. However, general abiotic stress tolerance was only observed in one fc2 fas mutant (fc2 fas2). Together, this suggests that plants can employ general stress tolerance mechanisms to overcome 1O2 production but that this screen was mostly specific to 1O2 signaling. We also observed that salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonate (JA) stress hormone response marker genes were induced in 1O2-stressed fc2 and generally reduced by fas mutations, suggesting that SA and JA signaling is correlated with active 1O2 signaling and PCD. Together, this work highlights the complexity of 1O2 signaling by demonstrating that multiple pathways may exist and introduces a suite of new 1O2 signaling mutants to investigate the mechanisms controlling chloroplast-initiated degradation, PCD, and retrograde signaling.

A newly evolved rice-specific gene JAUP1 regulates jasmonate biosynthesis and signalling to promote root development and multi-stress tolerance.

Root architecture and function are critical for plants to secure water and nutrient supply from the soil, but environmental stresses alter root development. The phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) regulates plant growth and responses to wounding and other stresses, but its role in root development for adaptation to environmental challenges had not been well investigated. We discovered a novel JA Upregulated Protein 1 gene (JAUP1) that has recently evolved in rice and is specific to modern rice accessions. JAUP1 regulates a self-perpetuating feed-forward loop to activate the expression of genes involved in JA biosynthesis and signalling that confers tolerance to abiotic stresses and regulates auxin-dependent root development. Ectopic expression of JAUP1 alleviates abscisic acid- and salt-mediated suppression of lateral root (LR) growth. JAUP1 is primarily expressed in the root cap and epidermal cells (EPCs) that protect the meristematic stemcells and emerging LRs. Wound-activated JA/JAUP1 signalling promotes crosstalk between the root cap of LR and parental root EPCs, as well as induces cell wall remodelling in EPCs overlaying the emerging LR, thereby facilitating LR emergence even under ABA-suppressive conditions. Elevated expression of JAUP1 in transgenic rice or natural rice accessions enhances abiotic stress tolerance and reduces grain yield loss under a limited water supply. We reveal a hitherto unappreciated role for wound-induced JA in LR development under abiotic stress and suggest that JAUP1 can be used in biotechnology and as a molecular marker for breeding riceadapted to extreme environmental challenges and for the conservation of water resources.

Current perspectives of lncRNAs in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants.

Abiotic/biotic stresses pose a major threat to agriculture and food security by impacting plant growth, productivity and quality. The discovery of extensive transcription of large RNA transcripts that do not code for proteins, termed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with sizes larger than 200 nucleotides in length, provides an important new perspective on the centrality of RNA in gene regulation. In plants, lncRNAs are widespread and fulfill multiple biological functions in stress response. In this paper, the research advances on the biological function of lncRNA in plant stress response were summarized, like as Natural Antisense Transcripts (NATs), Competing Endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and Chromatin Modification etc. And in plants, lncRNAs act as a key regulatory hub of several phytohormone pathways, integrating abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonate (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and redox signaling in response to many abiotic/biotic stresses. Moreover, conserved sequence motifs and structural motifs enriched within stress-responsive lncRNAs may also be responsible for the stress-responsive functions of lncRNAs, it will provide a new focus and strategy for lncRNA research. Taken together, we highlight the unique role of lncRNAs in integrating plant response to adverse environmental conditions with different aspects of plant growth and development. We envisage that an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which lncRNAs regulate plant stress response may further promote the development of unconventional approaches for breeding stress-resistant crops.

In Vitro Screening for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Biocontrol Ability of Plant Growth Promoting Strains of Azotobacter and Azospirillum spp.

The selection and deployment of microorganisms in stressed ecosystems with biocontrol ability is a major challenge. In this investigation, we sought to isolate and identify strains of Azotobacter and Azospirillum spp., which could withstand abiotic stresses and possess the potential to serve as biological control against five phytopathogenic fungi. Stress tolerance was evidently less obvious in Azospirillum strains than in Azotobacter strains, when bacterial strains were screened for high temperature (50 °C), salt (7% NaCl), and drought (1.2 MPa). Strains Asp30 and Asp 32 of Azospirillum and Azb 19, Azb20 and Azb27 of Azotobacter were found tolerant to temperature, drought and salinity stresses. Five strains of Azotobacter viz. Azb2, Azb6, Azb10, Azb16 and Azb18 and six strains of Azospirillum viz. Asp2, Asp10, Asp22, Asp30, Asp32 and Asp39 inhibited all the five fungal phytopathogens studied. Therefore, in vitro screening provided the basis for identification and selection of strains with abiotic stress tolerance and biocontrol ability.

Exploring strigolactones for inducing abiotic stress tolerance in plants

Exploring strigolactones for inducing abiotic stress tolerance in plants

Identification and expression analysis of SBP-Box-like (SPL) gene family disclose their contribution to abiotic stress and flower budding in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan).

The SPL gene family (for Squamosa Promoter-binding like Proteins) represents specific transcription factors that have significant roles in abiotic stress tolerance, development and the growth processes of different plants, including initiation of the leaf, branching and development of shoot and fruits. The SPL gene family has been studied in different plant species; however, its role is not yet fully explored in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan ). In the present study, 11 members of the CcSPL gene family were identified in C. cajan . The identified SPLs were classified into nine groups based on a phylogenetic analysis involving SPL protein sequences from C. cajan , Arabidopsis thaliana , Cicer arietinum , Glycine max , Phaseolus vulgaris , Vigna unguiculata and Arachis hypogaea . Further, the identification of gene structure, motif analysis, domain analysis and presence of cis -regulatory elements in the SPL family members were studied. Based on RNA-sequencing data, gene expression analysis was performed, revealing that CcSPL2.1, 3 and 13A were significantly upregulated for salt-tolerance and CcSPL14 and 15 were upregulated in a salt-susceptible cultivar. Real-time qPCR validation indicated that CcSPL3, 4, 6 and 13A were upregulated under salt stress conditions. Therefore, molecular docking was performed against the proteins of two highly expressed genes (CcSPL3 and CcSPL14 ) with three ligands: abscisic acid, gibberellic acid and indole-3-acetic acid. Afterward, their binding affinity was obtained and three-dimensional structures were predicted. In the future, our study may open avenues for harnessing CcSPL genes in pigeon pea for enhanced abiotic stress resistance and developmental traits.

Molecular docking insights into nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factor and pyrabactin resistance 1 (PYL) receptor proteins reveal abiotic stress regulation in finger millet

Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana - (L.) Gaertn), is an important nutraceutical crop with the potential for imparting food and nutritional security. These plants have a comparatively higher tolerance for several abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, and heat. Several players including Transcription Factor (TF) like Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) might be associated with this enhanced level of tolerance. Further, it is unclear how phytohormones like Abscisic acid (ABA) regulate the expression of NF-Y, whether in ABA-dependent or ABA-Independent pathway. The interaction of PYL (Pyrabactin resistance1-like) receptor proteins with Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) Transcription Factor in the presence of phytohormones like abscisic acid (ABA) provides one insight related to the enhanced tolerance towards abiotic stresses under ABA-dependent signaling in finger millet crop. A total of three PYL receptors of finger millet designated as EcPYL1, EcPYL5, and EcPYL9 were retrieved in the finger millet genome. These receptors were modeled through the SWISS-MODEL using templates 5gwo and 3wg8 and docked with ABA. The best-docked protein-ligand complex PYL5-ABA (binding energy ΔG ​= ​-8.8 kcal mol-1) was found to be most stable at the 50ns MD simulation study. Further protein-protein interaction between PYL5 and NF-YA2/B3/C1 sub-family members showed a good interaction. This clearly indicates the possibility of the NF-Y-PYL module in the ABA transduction pathway, which performs a crucial role in the expression of stress-responsive genes. These studies reveal the intricate relationship between the ABA, PYL receptors of finger millet, and NF-Y transcription factor in regulating the stress-responsive genes and provide an insight into the abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms, which can be targeted for crop improvement.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: Influence to abiotic stress tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has been shown to govern a number of aspects of plant development, enabling the plant to survive and adapt to its surroundings, in response to unfavorable conditions that are abiotic in nature. As a staple crop, rice is particularly vulnerable to a variety of abiotic stresses including drought, salt, heavy metal toxicity, and high temperatures. In tandem, these stresses have a significant detrimental impact on rice productivity and quality. PGPR is a rhizosphere-dwelling microorganism that can improve plant development through a variety of distinctive methods, including nutrient uptake, phytohormone synthesis, modification of plant stress signaling pathways, and stimulation of stress-responsive genes. In this review, we studied the several abiotic pressures that are encountered and how PGPR can aid in resisting the stresses with a focus on rice crop, we additionally look at how PGPR minimize the dependency of agricultural soils on pesticides and chemical fertilizers. PGPR contributes to the long-term sustainability of ecosystems, plant productivity, and soil health by promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices.

Transformation of SNAC1 under Stress Inducible Promoter Rd29a Confers High Yield and Stress Tolerance in Rice

Abiotic stress tolerance in plants is often induced by activation of transcription factors. An increased stress tolerance was observed in indica rice cultivar BRRI dhan55 after transforming with the transcription factor SNAC1 (stress responsive NAC1) under stress inducible promoter rd29A that minimized unexpected phenotype and metabolic burden in transgenic lines. Tissue culture independent Agrobacterium-mediated in planta transformation method was used. Molecular analyses confirmed the successful integration of the SNAC1 gene and significantly higher gene expression level in the transgenic lines. The transgenic lines showed 3:1 segregation ratio at T2 generation following the Mendelian law of inheritance. Assays for leaf disk senescence and chlorophyll content at 100 mM and 200 mM salt and survival rates at 200 mM salt and drought conditions at 12 days of water withdrawal and after recovery under water showed significantly increased stress tolerance in the transgenics lines at seedling stage compared to the wild type. Enhanced yield, spikelet fertility, and 100 grain weight were observed at the reproductive stage compared to wild type under both salinity and drought stress conditions. Thus, SNAC1 expression in plants under inducible promoter is a better choice to enhance stress tolerance and yield under salinity and drought conditions. Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 33(2): 115-133, 2023 (December)

Comparative Proteomic Analysis for Identification and Characterization of Nutritionally and Stress-Responsive Seed Proteins of Finger Millet with Respect to Rice

In the present investigation, we compared the seed proteome of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) and rice to gain an insight about the nutritional and stress-related proteins accumulated during finger millet seed development. Seed proteins of finger millet and rice were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and a total of 453 and 437 proteins were identified respectively. Comparative analysis revealed 25 and 9 proteins unique to finger millet and rice, respectively. Out of these unique proteins, 17 amd 5 were seed storage proteins (SSPs). In finger millet, these SSPs were the gliadins, zeins, and avenins. The rest of the unique proteins in both crops were the proteins involved in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. Of the 428 common proteins, the relative abundance of 175 proteins was higher in finger millet. Twenty proteins of this list were SSPs which largely consisted of the proteins belonging to the prolamin protein family. However, only one 63 kDa globulin protein showed an exceptional accumulation of about 244-fold in rice seeds compared to finger millet. Further, a Late Embryogenic Abundant (LEA) protein along with several stress-related proteins such as amylase/trypsin inhibitors, defensins, and oleosins were identified that accumulated highly in finger millet seeds. Furthermore, five EF (Elongation factor) hands containing calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) were also identified as highly expressed in finger millet compared to rice. The present investigation would expand our knowledge in understanding the biosynthetic pathways involved in nutritional partitioning during seed development.

Evaluation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in cultivated crops

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are ubiquitous and form a symbiotic association with many higher plants. They improve mineral nutrient uptake and enhance abiotic stress tolerance. Common cultivated crops (green pea, chick pea, red lentil, green gram, tomato, black gram and pigeon pea) at Aligarh District were evaluated to ascertain the presence and dominance of AM fungi. Glomus was the predominant genus and showed high frequency of occurrence at all the sites investigated. Five species belongs to genera Glomus (G. fasciculatum, G. mosseae, G. etunicatum, G. macrocarpum and G. constrictum) were found to be associated with these crops. Distribution of AM fungi on studied crops was tomato > green pea > chickpeas > black gram > red lentil > pigeon pea. G. fasciculatum register the dominancy in terms of spore count in this study whereas G. constrictum trail the spore count.