Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) carries out oxidation of toxic aldehydes using NAD
+
/NADP
+
as cofactors. In the present study, we performed a genome-wide identification and expression analysis of genes in the
ALDH
gene family in
Brassica rapa
. A total of 23
ALDH
genes in the superfamily have been identified according to the classification of
ALDH
Gene Nomenclature Committee (AGNC). They were distributed unevenly across all 10 chromosomes. All the 23
Brassica rapa ALDH
(
BrALDH
) genes exhibited varied expression patterns during treatments with abiotic stress inducers and hormonal treatments. The relative expression profiles of
ALDH
genes in
B
.
rapa
showed that they are predominantly expressed in leaves and stem suggesting their function in the vegetative tissues.
BrALDH7B2
showed a strong response to abiotic stress and hormonal treatments as compared to other
ALDH
genes; therefore, it was overexpressed in heterologous hosts,
E
.
coli
and yeast to study its possible function under abiotic stress conditions. Over-expression of
BrALDH7B2
in heterologous systems,
E
.
coli
and yeast cells conferred significant tolerance to abiotic stress treatments. Results from this work demonstrate that
BrALDH
genes are a promising and untapped genetic resource for crop improvement and could be deployed further in the development of drought and salinity tolerance in
B
.
rapa
and other economically important crops.
Manifestation of male sterility in plants is an important requirement for hybrid seed production. Tapetum cell layer of anther is a primary target for genetic manipulation for male sterility. In our previous report, the targeted expression of Arachis cysteine protease in tapetum led to premature degeneration of tapetal layer that resulted in complete male sterility in transgenic tobacco plants. To correlate cysteine protease mediated cell death of tapetum, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and proteomic pattern of anthers of cysteine protease induced male sterile plant were compared with the untransformed control plant. TEM study revealed the abnormal growth of tapetal cells exhibiting excessive vacuolization that synchronized with irregular exine wall formation of the microspores. In anther proteome, a total 250 protein spots were detected that were reproducible and exhibited similar distribution pattern. Further, anther proteome of male sterile plant showed the significant upregulation (C 1.5) of 56 protein spots. Using Mass spectroscopy (MALDI TOF/TOF), we have identified 14 protein spots that were involved in several processes such as energy metabolism, protein synthesis, plastid protein, lipid metabolism, and cell wall assembly. Upregulation of patatin-like protein-2 homolog, carboxylesterase 17 and dicer like protein-4 in male sterile anthers that have been demonstrated to induce cell death, suggesting that cysteine protease mediated premature tapetal cell death might involve the lipid peroxidation pathway in coordination with gene silencing mechanism.
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