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Not AvailableThe principal storage compound of seeds, phytic acid, poses several problems for agriculture due to its antinutritional effects making the development of low phytate crops a prime priority in research. Soybean, with its high nutritive value, wide acceptability and varied usage, but possessing high levels of phytate can be a major target of low phytate research. To this effect, Inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase (IPK1) can prove to be critical player given its key role in catalyzing the terminal step of phytate biosynthesis. In this paper, we report the expression profile of GmIPK1 across different tissues and seed development stages, cloning of 1371 bp nucleotide sequence representing the full length cDNA of GmIPK1 and in silico analysis for characterization. Amino acid sequence of GmIPK1 showed much similarity with that of Phaseolus vulgaris and Cicer arietinum. It also showed the presence of the characteristic Ins_P5_2-kinase domain required for catalytic activity. Thus this study provides an initial idea on the molecular characterization of GmIPK1 enzyme for its further in detailed study and subsequent utilization in generating low phyate soybean with enhanced mineral bioavailability.DST-INSPIREICAR-NAS

A genome-wide association study in Indian wild rice accessions for resistance to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola.

Rice root-knot nematode (RRKN), Meloidogyne graminicola is one of the major biotic constraints in rice-growing countries of Southeast Asia. Host plant resistance is an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective mean to mitigate RRKN damage to rice. Considering the limited availability of genetic resources in the Asian rice (Oryza sativa) cultivars, exploration of novel sources and genetic basis of RRKN resistance is necessary. We screened 272 diverse wild rice accessions (O. nivara, O. rufipogon, O. sativa f. spontanea) to identify genotypes resistant to RRKN. We dissected the genetic basis of RRKN resistance using a genome-wide association study with SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyped by 50K "OsSNPnks" genic Affymetrix chip. Population structure analysis revealed that these accessions were stratified into three major sub-populations. Overall, 40 resistant accessions (nematode gall number and multiplication factor/MF < 2) were identified, with 17 novel SNPs being significantly associated with phenotypic traits such as number of galls, egg masses, eggs/egg mass and MF per plant. SNPs were localized to the quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosome 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10 and 11 harboring the candidate genes including NBS-LRR, Cf2/Cf5 resistance protein, MYB, bZIP, ARF, SCARECROW and WRKY transcription factors. Expression of these identified genes was significantly (P < 0.01) upregulated in RRKN-infected plants compared to mock-inoculated plants at 7 days after inoculation. The identified SNPs enrich the repository of candidate genes for future marker-assisted breeding program to alleviate the damage of RRKN in rice

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Not Availableow phytate soybeans are desirable both from a nutritional and economic standpoint. Inositol 1, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentakisphosphate 2-kinase (IPK1), optimizes the metabolic flux of phytate generation in soybean and thus shows much promise as a likely candidate for pathway regulation. In the present study, the differential spatial and temporal expression profiling of GmIpk1 and its two homologs Glyma06g03310 and Glyma04g03310 were carried out in Glycine max L. var Pusa 9712 revealing the early stages of seed development to be the potential target for gene manipulation. NCBI databank was screened using BLASTp to retrieve 32 plant IPK1 sequences showing high homology to GmIPK1 and its homologs. Bio-computational tools were employed to predict the protein’s properties, conserved domains, and secondary structures. Using state-of-the-art in silico physicochemical approach, the three-dimensional (3D) GmIPK1 protein model (PMD ID—PM0079931), was developed based on Arabidopsis thaliana (PDB ID: 4AQK). Superimposition of 4AQK and best model of GmIPK1 revealed that the GmIPK1 aligned well and shows a sequence identity score of 54.32% with 4AQK and a low RMSD of 0.163 nm and almost similar structural features. The modeled structure was further refined considering the stereochemical geometry, energy and packing environment between the model and the template along with validation of its intrinsic dynamics. Molecular dynamics simulation studies of GmIPK1 were carried out to obtain structural insights and to understand the interactive behavior of this enzyme with ligands ADP and IP6. The results of this study provide some fundamental knowledge on the distinct mechanistic step performed by the key residues to elucidate the structure–function relationship of GmIPK1, as an initiative towards engineering “low phytate soybean”.INSPIRE Fellowship (Department of Science and Technology)ICAR-NASFDepartment of Biotechnolog