ABSTRACT
Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) a native of Chhattisgarh, belongs to the minor millet group and is primarily known as a climate-resilient and nutritionally rich crop. However, due to the lack of enough Omic studies on the crop, the scientific community has largely remained unaware of the potential of this crop, resulting in less scope for its utilization in crop improvement programs. Looking at global warming, erratic climate change, nutritional security, and limited genetic information available, the Little Millet Transcriptome Database (LMTdb) (https://igkv.ac.in/xenom/index.aspx) was conceptualized upon completion of the transcriptome sequencing of little millet with the aim of deciphering the genetic signatures of this largely unknown crop. The database was developed with the view of providing information about the most comprehensive part of the genome, the 'Transcriptome'. The database includes transcriptome sequence information, functional annotation, microsatellite markers, DEGs, and pathway information. The database is a freely available resource that provides breeders and scientists a portal to search, browse, and query data to facilitate functional and applied Omic studies in millet crops.
ABSTRACT
Minor millets are considered as nutrient-rich cereals having significant effect in improving human health. In this study, a rice ortholog of Ferric Chelate Reductase (FRO2) gene involved in plant metal uptake has been identified in iron-rich Little millet (LM) using PCR and next generation sequencing-based strategy. FRO2 gene-specific primers designed from rice genome amplified 2.7 Kb fragment in LM genotype RLM-37. Computational genomics analyses of the sequenced amplicon showed high level sequence similarity with rice OsFRO2 gene. The predicted gene structure showed the presence of 6 exons and 5 introns and its protein sequence was found to contain ferric reductase and NOX_Duox_Like_FAD_NADP domains. Further, 3D structure analysis of FCR-LM model protein (494 amino acids) shows that it has 18 helices, 10 beta sheets, 10 strands, 41 beta turn and 5 gamma turn with slight deviation from the FCR-Os structure. Besides, the structures of FCR-LM and FCR-Os were modelled followed by molecular dynamics simulations. The overall study revealed both sequence and structural similarity between the identified gene and OsFRO2. Thus, a putative ferric chelate reductase gene has been identified in LM paving the way for using this approach for identification of orthologs of other metal genes from millets. This also facilitates mining of effective alleles of known genes for improvement of staple crops like rice.
ABSTRACT
Genes in the ZIP family encode transcripts to store and transport bivalent metal micronutrient, particularly iron (Fe) and or zinc (Zn). These transcripts are important for a variety of functions involved in the developmental and physiological processes in many plant species, including most, if not all, Poaceae plant species and the model species Arabidopsis. Here, we present the report of a genome wide investigation of orthologous ZIP genes in Setaria italica and the identification of 7 single copy genes. RT-PCR shows 4 of them could be used to increase the bio-availability of zinc and iron content in grains. Of 36 ZIP members, 25 genes have traces of signal peptide based sub-cellular localization, as compared to those of plant species studied previously, yet translocation of ions remains unclear. In silico analysis of gene structure and protein nature suggests that these two were preeminent in shaping the functional diversity of the ZIP gene family in S. italica. NAC, bZIP and bHLH are the predominant Fe and Zn responsive transcription factors present in SiZIP genes. Together, our results provide new insights into the signal peptide based/independent iron and zinc translocation in the plant system and allowed identification of ZIP genes that may be involved in the zinc and iron absorption from the soil, and thus transporting it to the cereal grain underlying high micronutrient accumulation.
