Browsing by Author "D.C. Joshi"

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Genome-wide identification of nuclear factor -Y (NF–Y) transcription factor family in finger millet reveals structural and functional diversity
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Varsha Rani; Vinay Kumar Singh; D.C. Joshi; Rajesh Singh; Dinesh Yadav
The Nuclear Factor Y (NF–Y) is one of the widely explored transcription factors (TFs) family for its potential role in regulating molecular mechanisms related to stress response and developmental processes. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a hardy and stress-tolerant crop where partial efforts have been made to characterize a few transcription factors. However, the NF–Y TF is still poorly explored and not well documented. The present study aims to identify and characterize NF–Y genes of finger millet using a bioinformatics approach. Genome mining revealed 57 EcNF-Y (Eleusine coracana Nuclear Factor-Y) genes in finger millet, comprising 18 NF-YA, 23 NF-YB, and 16 NF-YC genes. The gene organization, conserved motif, cis-regulatory elements, miRNA target sites, and three-dimensional structures of these NF-Ys were analyzed. The nucleotide substitution rate and gene duplication analysis showed the presence of 7 EcNF-YA, 10 EcNF-YB, and 8 EcNF-YC paralogous genes and revealed the possibilities of synonymous substitution and stabilizing selection during evolution. The role of NF-Ys of finger millet in abiotic stress tolerance was evident by the presence of relevant cis-elements such as ABRE (abscisic acid-responsive elements), DRE (dehydration-responsive element), MYB (myeloblastosis) or MYC (myelocytomatosis). Twenty-three isoforms of miR169, mainly targeting a single NF–Y gene, i.e., the EcNF-YA13 gene, were observed. This interaction could be targeted for finger millet improvement against Magnaporthe oryzae (blast fungus). Therefore, by this study, the putative functions related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance for many of the EcNF-Y genes could be explored in finger millet. © 2024
“Millet Models” for harnessing nuclear factor-Y transcription factors to engineer stress tolerance in plants: current knowledge and emerging paradigms
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Varsha Rani; D.C. Joshi; Priyanka Joshi; Rajesh Singh; Dinesh Yadav
Main conclusion: The main purpose of this review is to shed light on the role of millet models in imparting climate resilience and nutritional security and to give a concrete perspective on how NF-Y transcription factors can be harnessed for making cereals more stress tolerant. Abstract: Agriculture faces significant challenges from climate change, bargaining, population, elevated food prices, and compromises with nutritional value. These factors have globally compelled scientists, breeders, and nutritionists to think of some options that can combat the food security crisis and malnutrition. To address these challenges, mainstreaming the climate-resilient and nutritionally unparalleled alternative crops like millet is a key strategy. The C4 photosynthetic pathway and adaptation to low-input marginal agricultural systems make millets a powerhouse of important gene and transcription factor families imparting tolerance to various kinds of biotic and abiotic stresses. Among these, the nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) is one of the prominent transcription factor families that regulate diverse genes imparting stress tolerance. The primary purpose of this article is to shed light on the role of millet models in imparting climate resilience and nutritional security and to give a concrete perspective on how NF-Y transcription factors can be harnessed for making cereals more stress tolerant. Future cropping systems could be more resilient to climate change and nutritional quality if these practices were implemented. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Molecular docking insights into nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factor and pyrabactin resistance 1 (PYL) receptor proteins reveal abiotic stress regulation in finger millet
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Varsha Rani; Vinay Kumar Singh; D.C. Joshi; Rajesh Singh; Dinesh Yadav
Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana - (L.) Gaertn), is an important nutraceutical crop with the potential for imparting food and nutritional security. These plants have a comparatively higher tolerance for several abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, and heat. Several players including Transcription Factor (TF) like Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) might be associated with this enhanced level of tolerance. Further, it is unclear how phytohormones like Abscisic acid (ABA) regulate the expression of NF-Y, whether in ABA-dependent or ABA-Independent pathway. The interaction of PYL (Pyrabactin resistance1-like) receptor proteins with Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) Transcription Factor in the presence of phytohormones like abscisic acid (ABA) provides one insight related to the enhanced tolerance towards abiotic stresses under ABA-dependent signaling in finger millet crop. A total of three PYL receptors of finger millet designated as EcPYL1, EcPYL5, and EcPYL9 were retrieved in the finger millet genome. These receptors were modeled through the SWISS-MODEL using templates 5gwo and 3wg8 and docked with ABA. The best-docked protein-ligand complex PYL5-ABA (binding energy ΔG = -8.8 kcal mol-1) was found to be most stable at the 50ns MD simulation study. Further protein-protein interaction between PYL5 and NF-YA2/B3/C1 sub-family members showed a good interaction. This clearly indicates the possibility of the NF-Y-PYL module in the ABA transduction pathway, which performs a crucial role in the expression of stress-responsive genes. These studies reveal the intricate relationship between the ABA, PYL receptors of finger millet, and NF-Y transcription factor in regulating the stress-responsive genes and provide an insight into the abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms, which can be targeted for crop improvement. © 2024 The Authors