Department of Metabolic and Structural Biology, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow, 226015, India.
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) (An Institution of National Importance by Act of Parliament), CSIR-HRDC Campus, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Sector-19, Ghaziabad, 201002, UP, India.
Sci Rep. 2020 Mar 17;10(1):4877. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60090-7.
Withania somnifera owing to its strong and remarkable stress tolerance property is a reliable candidate for the determination of genes involved in mechanism of adaption/tolerance of various stress conditions. 187 AP2/ERF gene related transcripts (GRTs) were identified during comprehensive search in W. somnifera transcriptome repertoire. Major hits in homology search were observed from the model plant Arabidopsis and members of Solanaceae family. Cloning, expression analysis of the gene and genetic transient transformation with the gene (WsAP2) were performed to predict its functional role in planta. Enhanced expression of some of the pathway genes for terpenoid biosynthesis was observed in transformed tissues in comparison to the control tissues. It is speculated that WsAP2 gene crucially regulates the expression of GGPPS gene in addition to the regulation of other important genes of terpenoid pathway via induction of expression of other genes such as HMGR, CAS, DXS and DXR. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report representing detailed study of AP2/ERF gene family in W. somnifera. It is also suggested from the study that gene might have role in eliciting responses to combat stress and attribute the strong stress tolerant property associated with the plant.
睡茄由于其强大而显著的应激耐受特性，是确定参与各种应激条件适应/耐受机制的基因的可靠候选物。在对睡茄转录组库进行全面搜索时，鉴定出了 187 个 AP2/ERF 基因相关转录本 (GRT)。在同源性搜索中主要发现了来自模式植物拟南芥和茄科家族的成员。对基因进行了克隆、表达分析和基因的瞬时转化，以预测其在植物体内的功能作用。与对照组织相比，转化组织中萜类生物合成途径的一些基因表达增强。推测 WsAP2 基因除了通过诱导其他基因如 HMGR、CAS、DXS 和 DXR 的表达来调节萜类途径的其他重要基因的表达外，还能关键调控 GGPPS 基因的表达。据我们所知，这是首次在睡茄中对 AP2/ERF 基因家族进行详细研究的报告。该研究还表明，该基因可能在引发对抗应激的反应中发挥作用，并赋予与植物相关的强大应激耐受特性。
