Study of <i>CaDreb2c</i> and <i>CaDreb2h</i> Gene Sequences and Expression in Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) Cultivars Growing in Northern Kazakhstan under Drought

• 發表在: Plants
• Main Authors: Konstantin V. Kiselev, Zlata V. Ogneva, Alexandra S. Dubrovina, Ademi Zh. Gabdola, Gulmira Zh. Khassanova, Satyvaldy A. Jatayev
• 格式: Article
• 語言: 英语
• 出版: MDPI AG 2024-07-01
• 主題: abiotic stress; crop; gene expression; tolerance; transcription factors
• 在線閱讀: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/15/2066

Drought poses a significant challenge to plant growth and productivity, particularly in arid regions like northern Kazakhstan. Dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) transcription factors play an important role in plant response to drought and other abiotic stresses. In <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, the DREB subfamily consists of six groups, designated DREB1 to DREB6. Among these, DREB2 is primarily associated with drought and salinity tolerance. In the chickpea genome, two <i>DREB</i> genes, <i>CaDREB2c</i> and <i>CaDREB2h</i>, have been identified, exhibiting high sequence similarity to Arabidopsis <i>DREB2</i> genes. We investigated the nucleotide sequences of <i>CaDREB2c</i> and <i>CaDREB2h</i> genes in several chickpea cultivars commonly grown in northern Kazakhstan. Interestingly, the <i>CaDREB2h</i> gene sequence was identical across all varieties and corresponded to the sequence deposited in the GenBank. However, the <i>CaDREB2c</i> gene sequence exhibited variations among the studied varieties, categorized into three groups: the first group (I), comprising 20 cultivars, contained a <i>CaDREB2c</i> gene sequence identical to the GenBank (Indian cultivar CDC Frontier). The second group (II), consisting of 4 cultivars, had a single synonymous substitution (T to C) compared to the deposited <i>CaDREB2c</i> gene sequence. The third group, encompassing 5 cultivars, displayed one synonymous substitution (C to T) and two non-synonymous substitutions (G to T and G to A). Furthermore, we assessed the gene expression patterns of <i>CaDREB2c</i> and <i>CaDREB2h</i> in different chickpea varieties under drought conditions. Chickpea cultivars 8 (III), 37 (I), 6 (III), and 43 (I) exhibited the highest drought resistance. Our analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between drought resistance and <i>CaDREB2h</i> gene expression under drought stress. Our findings suggest that the chickpea’s adaptive responses to water deprivation are associated with changes in <i>CaDREB2</i> gene expression. To further elucidate the mechanisms underlying drought tolerance, we propose future research directions that will delve into the molecular interactions and downstream targets of <i>CaDREB2</i> genes.