The structural, functional and in-silico studies of Dof transcription factor attempted so far reveals immense opportunity to analyze the plant genomes in terms of number of Dof genes and discuss in light of the evolution. The multiple functions of Dof genes needs to explored for crop improvement. Transcription factors play a very vital role in gene regulation at transcriptional level and are being extensively studied across phylas. In recent years, sequencing of plant genomes has led to genome-wide identification and characterizations of diverse types of plant-specific transcription factor gene family providing key insights into their structural and functional diversity. The DNA binding with one finger (Dof), a class belonging to C2H2-type zinc finger family proteins, is a plant-specific transcription factor having multiple roles such as seed maturation and germination, phytohormone and light-mediated regulation and plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Dof proteins are present across plant lineage, from green algae to higher angiosperm, and represent a unique class of transcription factor having bifunctional binding activities, with both DNA and proteins, to regulate the complex transcriptional machinery in plant cells. The structural and functional diversity of the Dof transcription factor family along with the bioinformatics analysis highlighting the phylogeny of Dof families is reviewed in light of its importance in plant biotechnology for crop improvement.

The Dof (DNA binding with One Finger) family represents a classic zinc-finger transcription factors involved with multifarious roles exclusively in plants. There exists great diversity in terms of number of Dof genes observed in different crops. In current study, a total of 28 putative Dof genes have been predicted in silico from the recently available whole genome shotgun sequence of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (with assigned accession numbers TPA:BK006983-BK007006 and TPA:BK007079-BK007082). The predicted SbDof genes are distributed on nine out of ten chromosomes of sorghum and most of these genes lack introns based on canonical intron/exon structure. Phylogenetic analysis of 28 SbDof proteins resulted in four subgroups constituting six clusters. The comparative phylogenetic analysis of these Dof proteins along with 30 rice and 36 Arabidopsis Dof proteins revealed six major groups similar to what has been observed earlier for rice and Arabidopsis. Motif analysis revealed the presence of conserved 50-52 amino acids Dof domain uniformly distributed across all the 28 Dof proteins of sorghum. The in silico cis-regulatory elements analysis of these SbDof genes suggested its diverse functions associated with light responsiveness, endosperm specific gene expression, hormone responsiveness, meristem specific expression and stress responsiveness.

We report the de novo assembled 20.05-Mb draft genome of the red yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides MTCC 457, predicted to encode 5,993 proteins, 4 rRNAs, and 125 tRNAs. Proteins known to be unique to oleaginous fungi are present among the predicted proteins. The genome sequence will be valuable for molecular genetic analysis and manipulation of lipid accumulation in this yeast and for developing it as a potential host for biofuel production.

IFNG (interferon gamma)-induced autophagy plays an important role in the elimination of intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, the signaling cascade that leads to the increase in autophagy flux in response to IFNG is poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that HMOX1 (heme oxygenase 1)-generated carbon monoxide (CO) is required for the induction of autophagy and killing of Mtb residing in macrophages in response to immunomodulation by IFNG. Interestingly, IFNG exposure of macrophages induces an increase in intracellular calcium levels that is dependent on HMOX1 generated CO. Chelation of intracellular calcium inhibits IFNG-mediated autophagy and mycobacterial clearance from macrophages. Moreover, we show that IFNG-mediated increase in intracellular calcium leads to activation of the phosphatase calcineurin (PPP3), which dephosphorylates the TFEB (transcription factor EB) to induce autophagy. PPP3-mediated activation and nuclear translocation of TFEB are critical in IFNG-mediated mycobacterial trafficking and survival inside the infected macrophages. These findings establish that IFNG utilizes the PPP3-TFEB signaling axis for inducing autophagy and regulating mycobacterial growth. We believe this signaling axis could act as a therapeutic target for suppression of growth of intracellular pathogens.