Repeat length variation in the 5ʹUTR ofmyo-inositol monophosphatase gene is related to phytic acid content and contributes to drought tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinumL.)

Abstract

Myo-inositol metabolism plays a significant role in plant growth and development, and is also used as a precursor for many important metabolites, such as ascorbate, pinitol, and phytate. Phytate (inositol hexakisphosphate) is the major storage pool for phosphate in the seeds. It is utilized during seed germination and growth of the developing embryo. In addition, it is implicated in protection against oxidative stress. In the present study, a panel of chickpea accessions was used for an association analysis. Association analysis accounting for population structure and relative kinship identified alleles of a simple sequence repeat marker, NCPGR90, that are associated with both phytic acid content and drought tolerance. These alleles varied with respect to the dinucleotide CT repeats present within the marker. NCPGR90 located to the 5'UTR of chickpea myo-inositol monophosphatase gene (CaIMP) and showed transcript length variation in drought-tolerant and drought-susceptible accessions. CaIMP from a drought-tolerant accession with a smaller repeat was almost 2-fold upregulated as compared to a susceptible accession having a longer repeat, even under control non-stressed conditions. This study suggests an evolution of simple sequence repeat length variation in CaIMP, which might be regulating phytic acid levels to confer drought tolerance in natural populations of chickpea.

A polymorphic (GA/CT)n- SSR influences promoter activity of Tryptophan decarboxylase gene in Catharanthus roseus L. Don

“…Microsatellite repeats, especially the (CT) n motifs, are known to exist in abundance in the 5′UTRs of several eukaryotic genes including plants 5 6 7 35 . However, the involvement of the microsatellite motif per-se or based on their length variation, in transcriptional regulation is only beginning to be investigated in plants 23 .…”

“…In another study, a polymorphic (CT) n microsatellite identified in the 5′UTR region of the wx gene of rice 21 was correlated with amylose content and microsatellite length polymorphism was thought to affect the expression of the related genes of amylose synthesis 22 . Recently, Joshi-Saha and Reddy 23 have suggested that (CT) n repeat length variation in 5′-UTR of the chickpea myo-inositol monophosphatase gene ( CaIMP ), might regulate phytic acid levels to confer drought tolerance in natural populations of chickpea. Additionally, at the whole genome level it has been shown that ~10% of 5′ non-coding CT/GA and CTT/GAA repeats are conserved in Arabidopsis and are thought to be involved in regulation of gene expression in plant-specific pathways 6 .…”

ABC Transporter-Mediated Transport of Glutathione Conjugates Enhances Seed Yield and Quality in Chickpea

“…GSH content was measured using a fluorometer and reverse-phase liquid chromatography as per Lu et al (1998), Cairns et al (2006), and Dragičević et al (2015). The phytic acid was estimated in accordance with Gao et al (2007) and Joshi-Saha and Reddy (2015). Amino acid content was calculated using the amino acid analyzer chromatography and UltraViolet-Visible spectrophotometric methods as previously described in Moore et al (1958), Ohkama-Ohtsu et al (2007), and Okoronkwo et al (2017).…”

Profiling of BABA-induced differentially expressed genes of Zea mays using suppression subtractive hybridization

“…Higher expressing of CaIMP gene has been shown to improve tolerance to drought. 60 In our previous study, we have shown that BABA pretreatment could signicantly alleviate drought stress impact on maize seedlings. 9 Overexpression of inositol monophosphatase 3 in BABA-primed leaves (ZmSF) as revealed in SSH forward library and validated through qRT-PCR might contribute to drought stress acclimation.…”