Bioinformatics
Aboozar Soorni; Sepehr Meratian Esfahani; Badraldin Ebrahim Sayed-Tabatabaei
Abstract
Today, medicinal plants are used in the treatment of many diseases because of their secondary metabolites. Thyme as one of these plants contains a wide range of secondary metabolites such as terpenes. Various methods have been developed to increase these materials. In classical methods, environmental ...
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Today, medicinal plants are used in the treatment of many diseases because of their secondary metabolites. Thyme as one of these plants contains a wide range of secondary metabolites such as terpenes. Various methods have been developed to increase these materials. In classical methods, environmental factors are changed to produce the most effective substance in medicinal plants, but in newer approaches that are based on plant genetics, higher yields are observed. One of these approaches is the use of miRNAs. These miRNAs control gene expression after transcription by mRNA analysis or inhibition of their translation, and play different roles in biological and metabolic processes in plants and animals. One of the simplest and least expensive methods for identifying miRNAs is the use of bioinformatics tools and methods. To identify distinct miRNA in different species of thyme, a study based on homology search was conducted using transcriptomic data of thyme. First, this information was refined and then aligament performed against all known miRNAs in the miRBase database. After screening of results based on factors such as length and e-value level, the secondary structure of miRNAs was analyzed with UNAfold tool. Target genes were identified using psRNATARGET tool and phylogenetic relationships were investigated using maximum likelihood method and RaxML tool. In total 64 distinct candidate’s miRNAs were identified in different species of thymus and 14 miRNAs included miR172 and miR396 played an important role in terpenes synthesis and it has been proven in previous studies. The phylogenetic tree was able to show the relationship between miRNAs in different species.
Bioinformatics
Masoud Tohidfar; Yousef Saeedi Honar; Naser Farrokhi
Abstract
Catharanthus roseus is one of the most important medicinal plants that contains two antitumor substances, vinblastine and vincristine. It is important to identify the involved genes and their expression pattern and anti-tumor effect in different tissues of this plant. By using the expression data of ...
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Catharanthus roseus is one of the most important medicinal plants that contains two antitumor substances, vinblastine and vincristine. It is important to identify the involved genes and their expression pattern and anti-tumor effect in different tissues of this plant. By using the expression data of RNA sequencing of different tissues, differential expression genes and their antitumor effects were investigated as in silico. The results showed that the total number of differentially expressed genes in the organs varied between 120 and 1238. The highest number of DEGs compared to the root was related to the leaf and the lowest number was related to the flower. Subsequently, 13 common genes between three different organs and 22 common genes were observed between leaves versus flowers and leaves versus roots. Among them, 6 common genes were observed in all three tissues, and the annotation analysis showed that these genes are involved in the biosynthetic pathway of two important compounds, vinblastine and vincristine. The highest expression of these genes was related to leaves and the lowest was related to roots. Protein network analysis determined that a number of genes that showed the most interaction with other genes were related to the genes of the biocentric pathway of antitumor compounds. Docking and molecular dynamics analysis showed that vinblastine and vincristine, while having good interaction as inhibitors with phosphoglycoprotein (drug resistance protein in tumor cells), also have good stability in interaction with phosphoglycoprotein. Generally DAT, STR, TDC, G10H, D4H, T16H2, Tryptophandecar-boxylase and Strictosidine synthase genes that were in the biosynthesis pathway of vinblastine and vincristine had an effective role in different organs. The obtained results give new insights about the mechanism of treatment with natural products, which can be used to improve the patients.
Bioinformatics
Samira Mohammadi
Abstract
60 kDa heat shock proteins (HSP60s) also known as chaperonin (cpn60) play an important role in plant growth and stress response. In this study, 32 HSP60 genes were identified in the soybean genome through bioinformatics tools, which are distributed on 14 chromosomes. Most of these proteins are hydrophilic, ...
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60 kDa heat shock proteins (HSP60s) also known as chaperonin (cpn60) play an important role in plant growth and stress response. In this study, 32 HSP60 genes were identified in the soybean genome through bioinformatics tools, which are distributed on 14 chromosomes. Most of these proteins are hydrophilic, acidic, and unstable with a high aliphatic index The evolutionary tree divided HSP60 proteins of soybean, Arabidopsis, and rice into three main groups based on their cellular location. The proteins of different subgroups have highly conserved gene structure, conserved motifs, intron phase, and three-dimensional structure, which can indicate their functional similarities in different subgroups. Several cis-regulatory elements responsive to stresses, growth and hormones were found in the promoter of GmHSP60 genes, that indicate their role in plant growth and response to environmental stresses. Gene ontology (GO) analysis predicted that GmHSP60 genes were responsible for protein folding and refolding in an ATP-dependent manner in response to various stresses. Analysis of the transcriptome pattern (RNA-seq) showed that most of the GmHSP60 genes had high expression in response to salt, drought, cold, heat, submergence, and nutrient deficiency stresses, which indicates their role in improving soybean tolerance to abiotic stresses. Overall, these findings provide useful information to better understand the function of GmHSP60 genes in soybean and facilitate the way for the utilization of chaperonin family genes for achieving plant tolerance against abiotic stresses.
Bioinformatics
Sara Dezhsetan; Parivash Nezami Anbaran; Mahdi Behnamian
Abstract
The MYB transcription factor superfamily has a fundamental role in plant growth and development, activation of stress-responsive genes, and in some cases biosynthesis of key metabolites. The availability of potato, Arabidopsis (dicotyledonous), maize and barley (monocotyledonous) genome sequences provided ...
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The MYB transcription factor superfamily has a fundamental role in plant growth and development, activation of stress-responsive genes, and in some cases biosynthesis of key metabolites. The availability of potato, Arabidopsis (dicotyledonous), maize and barley (monocotyledonous) genome sequences provided the opportunity to identify 121, 139, 190 and 144 non-redundant MYB genes in these linages, respectively. In the study of the evolutionary characteristics of MYB conserved domains in two monocotyledonous plants, corn and barley, they were remarkably similar to each other in terms of alignment and order of placement. This characteristic was also true in relation to two dicotyledonous plants, potato and Arabidopsis, but the difference between MYB conserved domains in monocots and dicots was significant. In other words, it seems that despite the similarity of MYB genes in monocots and dicots, this gene family in the evolution in monocots and dicots have derived from each other. The 2R-MYB members were the most common subgroup of the MYB family in monocots and dicots and only one member of the 4R-MYB subfamily was observed in maize. In all four plants, the main reason for the functional differentiation of genes in this gene family was segmental duplication that has led to positive and purifying evolutionary selection. MYB gene family was located on all chromosomes of potato, Arabidopsis, maize and barley with non-uniform distribution. The expression pattern of AT1G57560, AT2G47190, AT3G23250 and AT1G56650 genes changed in more than one test of abiotic stress and hormonal response. Also, the expression pattern of AT1G74080, AT4G12350, AT4G22680, AT2G47190, AT1G48000, AT2G39880, AT5G40330 and AT5G16600 genes changed in more than one biotic stress test. On the other hand, the expression pattern of the AT2G47190 gene showed increased expression in several biotic and abiotic stresses. The presence of diverse and numerous regulatory Cis elements in response to stresses and hormones in the promoter region of MYB genes and the investigation of the expression profiles of this gene family in biotic and abiotic stresses in Arabidopsis indicates the functional diversity of the genes of this superfamily. In silico investigation of MYB gene superfamily in monocots and dicots provides a framework for comparative, evolutionary and functional studies of the members of this important gene superfamily.
Bioinformatics
Samira Karimi; Mahin Pouresmaeil
Abstract
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary science that utilizes information technologies to organize and analyze biological data. This science enables researchers to perform comprehensive and documented investigations on various biological problems without the need for expensive and time-consuming laboratory ...
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Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary science that utilizes information technologies to organize and analyze biological data. This science enables researchers to perform comprehensive and documented investigations on various biological problems without the need for expensive and time-consuming laboratory experiments .In this study, we acquired the reverse transcriptase (RT) sequence of eight virus strains from NCBI with the following accession numbers: NC_001497.2, NC_001648.1, NC_001839.2, NC_003977.2, AF053008.1, EF428979.1, NC_001802.1. We investigated the structural and functional characteristics, domains, and motifs. The analysis revealed that the proteins from the eight virus strains, belonging to different families, exhibited distinct properties that set them apart from one another. The analysis also showed that these proteins are found in the membrane, cytoplasm, and periplasm, and all of them contain at least one specific domain of the reverse transcriptase enzyme. Based on all the analyses performed, Cauliflower mosaic virus, Cassava vein mosaic virus, and Soybean chlorotic mottle virus, all belonging to the Caulimoviridae family, were suitable for producing RT enzymes. The ability of these viruses to adapt to different plant hosts could potentially lead to the development of more efficient and cost-effective methods for producing RT enzymes. This adaptability could also open up new possibilities for genetic engineering and biotechnology, enabling the development of more effective enzymes.
Bioinformatics
Anahita Panji; Ahmad Ismaili; Seyyed Mohsen Sohrabi
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are a part of the innate immune system in plants. They are present in all tissues and a wide range of plant species, and their antimicrobial effect against plant and animal pathogens and cancer cells has been proven. Snakins are a group of low molecular weight cysteine-rich plant ...
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Antimicrobial peptides are a part of the innate immune system in plants. They are present in all tissues and a wide range of plant species, and their antimicrobial effect against plant and animal pathogens and cancer cells has been proven. Snakins are a group of low molecular weight cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptides involved in the defense against biotic and abiotic stresses, hormone pathways, and plant growth and development. In the present study, laboratory and bioinformatic methods were used to investigate the characteristics of the snakin gene family members and to evaluate their expression changes in four seed development stages (3, 8, 13, and 18 days after pollination) in barley plants. The results showed the presence of 11 snakin genes in the genome of barley. The protein sequences of the identified snakins contained the GASA functional domain. These snakins had a signal peptide and had extracellular accumulation. Due to their high abundance of hydrophobic amino acids, they were hydrophobic and produced complex secondary structures. Phylogenetic analysis was performed between barley, rice, and arabidopsis snakins as two monocot and dicot models, leading to three classes. Also, six disulfide bonds and antimicrobial properties were computationally confirmed in all identified proteins. Expression analysis showed different expression patterns for snakin gene family members in different stages of seed development and also exhibited different trends in each stage. The snakin genes can use to produce transgenic plants and to produce a new generation of natural antibiotic agents to protect humans, plants, and animals.
Bioinformatics
Mohammad Mohsenzadeh Golfazani; Alireza Tarang; Ramin Seighalani
Abstract
There is much information about the regulation of gene expression in response to various stresses at the transcriptional level. Nevertheless, there is limited information about this process at the post-transcriptional level. The diversity and complexity of miRNA regulation indicates their importance ...
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There is much information about the regulation of gene expression in response to various stresses at the transcriptional level. Nevertheless, there is limited information about this process at the post-transcriptional level. The diversity and complexity of miRNA regulation indicates their importance in biological processes. Many miRNA regulatory modules can form a complex miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Therefore, research on miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks can provide valuable information for understanding complex biological processes. These data are very important to further study the stress tolerance mechanisms in plants, especially in rapeseed. In this research, the selection of miRNAs related to drought and salinity stress was made by reviewing the articles on abiotic stresses. Then the target genes were identified using the sequences of mature miRNAs and psRNATarget online software. A gene list of 225 identified target genes was prepared using the UniProt database. Their functional pathway was identified utilizing the DAVID bioinformatics database and KEGG database according to default parameters. Investigations showed that these target genes were involved in several biological pathways including ribosome, spliceosome, proteasome, purine metabolism, selenocompound metabolism, and sulfur metabolism. In addition, the STRING database was used to check co-expression genes. Our result indicated the existence of 37 co-expression genes among the identified target genes.
Bioinformatics
Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi-petroudi; Samira Mohammadi; Esmaeil Bakhshandeh; Markus Kuhlmann
Abstract
From prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes, protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) play a critical role in the stress response. For the purpose of identifying the AlPP2C gene and examining its expression, Aeluropus littoralis, a salt-secreting halophytic grass belonging to the Poaceae family, was genome-wildly analyzed. ...
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From prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes, protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) play a critical role in the stress response. For the purpose of identifying the AlPP2C gene and examining its expression, Aeluropus littoralis, a salt-secreting halophytic grass belonging to the Poaceae family, was genome-wildly analyzed. Based on the unique structure of the PP2C domain, 34 AlPP2C genes were discovered and classified into ten evolutionary branches based on homology with Arabidopsis thaliana. According to exon-intron structural analyses, they possessed a wide range of exon counts. AlPP2Cs shared similar motif organization in the same evolutionary branches based on motif distribution. The motifs ABRE, MBS, DRE, STRE, and LTR, which are related with stress, were discovered in the promoter region of the AlPP2C. AlPP2Cs displayed varied expression patterns in leaf and root tissues in response to salt stress and recovery conditions, according to transcriptome analyses. The AlPP2C4 gene is only expressed in the root tissues. These results expand our understanding of the PP2C gene family and provide valuable information for future research on PP2Cs molecular function and biological processes studies.
Bioinformatics
Mahin Pouresmaeil; Maghsoud Pazhouhandeh
Abstract
Today, the genome sequence of most organisms has been identified, and this information is useful in understanding the function and characteristics of organisms. In the meantime, there is unprocessed information that can be used to study unknown proteins and genes with the advancement of technology and ...
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Today, the genome sequence of most organisms has been identified, and this information is useful in understanding the function and characteristics of organisms. In the meantime, there is unprocessed information that can be used to study unknown proteins and genes with the advancement of technology and the use of bioinformatics tools. In this research, the sequence of a gene with unknown function from Arabidopsis thaliana with accession number of X91953.1 in NCBI database was used to investigate and study its structure and possible function. This gene is related to chromosome number one in Arabidopsis thaliana and with 676 base pairs, it produces a protein with 150 amino acids and a molecular weight of approximately 15 kD. By using bioinformatics servers, the characteristics of both gene and protein sequences were investigated and it was found that it has 18 types of regulatory motifs, the functions of some of which are known, which can be related to the response to light and the activity of Cis elements for expression in the meristem. The analyzes showed that this protein has 38 motifs, three of them are conserved with high frequency. This protein has a signal peptide at its Nt and is leaked into the extracellular space. Therefore, its presence in the intercellular space is more likely than the nucleus and intracellular organelles. There is also a regulation site of a microRNA on its transcript and this microRNA is active in response to salinity and also in the embryo. This unknown protein has about 90% homology with another protein in Arabidopsis with accession number of UPF0540 (At1g62000), which can be used for further studies to identify the role of the desired protein. This protein is expressed in 10 different tissues, mainly in embryo and seed endosperm. Based on all the analyzes carried out, two functions of seed coat differentiation and the biosynthesis of secreted substances due to light can be predicted for this protein. In the continuation of this work, laboratory methods are recommended for testing the functions attributed to this gene.
Bioinformatics
Parisa Ramezanpoor; Hamid Najafi Zarini; Hamidreza Hashemi; Gholamali Ranjbar
Abstract
Zincfinger CCCH (C3HZNF) genes encode proteins with three cysteines and one histidine. The proteins of this family are an important group of zinc finger transcription factors that are effective in various activities such as plant growth and response to biotic and abiotic stresses and actually They are ...
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Zincfinger CCCH (C3HZNF) genes encode proteins with three cysteines and one histidine. The proteins of this family are an important group of zinc finger transcription factors that are effective in various activities such as plant growth and response to biotic and abiotic stresses and actually They are effective in stresses tolarance. In this article, C3HZNF protein data of Arabidopsis and rice plants were used to analyze phylogenetic relationships, exon/intron structure, motifs/domains organization. These studies showed the high homology of these genes with CCCH genes in rice. Analysis of the gene structure showed that AtC3Hs have a variable number of exons, but in general, genes with 1 and 7 exons contain the largest number. study the physical and chemical properties of this family showed that AtC3H36 is the most stable protein among the members of this family, and the highest isoelectric point belongs to the AtC3H7(9.96) protein. The observations showed that the members of this gene family have 1 to 6 Znf C3H domains and a total of 17 functional domains. Phylogeny comparison between C3H proteins in rice and Arabidopsis showed that these proteins are highly conserved. In the comparative phylogenetic analysis of AtC3H and OsC3H, the orthologous genes were placed in one group. For example, OsC3H8 showed close homology to HUA1 in Arabidopsis (AtC3H37), suggesting that this gene is involved in flower development. This study provides valuable information about the important CCCH zinc finger gene family in Arabidopsis and rice. This information can be helpful in understanding how these genes work to help plant tolarance when faced with biotic and abiotic stresses.
Bioinformatics
Masoumeh Fallah Ziarani; Mehdi Safaeizadeh
Abstract
Sucrose Froctan 6 fructosyl transferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of the fructosyl group from sucrose to various receptors. The importance of this protein is due to its role in increasing plant resistance against stresses. Due to the importance of sucrose transport in the cell, this gene ...
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Sucrose Froctan 6 fructosyl transferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of the fructosyl group from sucrose to various receptors. The importance of this protein is due to its role in increasing plant resistance against stresses. Due to the importance of sucrose transport in the cell, this gene was studied with the help of various databases and various bioinformatics software and it was compared with genes involved in the hydrolysis of O-glycosyl in wheat as well as genes of other plant species. Phylogenetic analysis divided 21 haplotypes into eight distinct groups. An exon was detected on the positive strand of this gene by FgenesH program and it was found that its predicted protein is 619 amino acids long. MapViewer revealed that the sequence carrying the Sucrose Froctan 6 fructosyl transferase (6-sft) access gene (JQ728011) is located on chromosome 4 of wheat. The isoelectric point (pI) of the target protein is 5.19, its net charge is -24 and examination of the Instability index showed that this protein has a long life. The molecular weight of Sucrose Froctan 6 fructosyl transferase (6-sft) protein was 6877.38 Da and ontologically, the 6-sft protein remains inside the cell. This protein has two protected domains PF00251 (Glyco-hydrolasy) and SSF75005 (Arabinana) at the N-terminus and a domain is SSF49899 (Cancanava) at the end of C. It was inferred that this protein was transported to the nucleus by the domain glyco-hydrolasy after synthesis in the cytoplasm and regulates O-glycosyle hydrolysis in wheat. Comparison of the secondary structure of the protein confirmed the existence of alpha plates. Three-dimensional modeling of this protein in wheat was performed by homology modeling method using Swiss Model database after selecting the appropriate model with high similarity that was extracted from PDB database. To validation of modeled structure and esterochemical analysis, Ramachandran plot was drawn and dihydral angles were calculated. Structural quality evaluation results showed that the proposed models are good quality and stability. The study of protein structure may help to understand protein function and the details of its structure can be useful in studies of the active site of the protein and docking.
Bioinformatics
Seyyed Mohsen Sohrabi; Ali Akbarabadi; Kamran Samiei; Anahita Panji
Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is an annual, self-pollinated and diploid plant belonging to the potato family (Solanaceae). Different types of this plant form an important part of the world's diet. Bacterial diseases are one of the most important factors limiting tomato production worldwide. In the present ...
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Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is an annual, self-pollinated and diploid plant belonging to the potato family (Solanaceae). Different types of this plant form an important part of the world's diet. Bacterial diseases are one of the most important factors limiting tomato production worldwide. In the present study, by using transcriptome (RNA-seq) analysis followed by gene network analysis, the key genes involved in response to bacterial diseases were identified and their various characteristics were investigated. The results of the transcriptome analysis showed that bacterial pathogens have different effects on the transcriptome of tomato. Further analysis revealed 913 common differentially expressed genes among different bacterial treatments. Network analysis identified five key genes named large guanine nucleotide binding protein, mitogen-activated protein kinase 5, mitogen-activated protein kinase 7, heat shock protein 90 kDa and hop-interacting protein. Further analysis of identified key genes showed that all of them contain biotic stress related regulatory elements (w-box, WRE3 and WUN-motif) in their promoter region and have an important role in responding to biotic stresses. The key genes identified in this research can be used in classic breeding programs or in production of disease-resistant transgenic plants after a more detailed examination.
Keywords: Gene networks, Plant breeding, Plant diseases, Tomato, Transcriptome
Bioinformatics
Maryam Mehdizadeh hakkak; Masoud Tohidfar; Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili
Abstract
Squalane is an unsaturated triterpene that has wide applications in pharmaceuticals. In this research, the production of squalene and its bioinformatic analysis in four species of unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes were investigated in order to determine the difference of this gene ...
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Squalane is an unsaturated triterpene that has wide applications in pharmaceuticals. In this research, the production of squalene and its bioinformatic analysis in four species of unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes were investigated in order to determine the difference of this gene in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The results of phylogenetic analysis showed that algae as multicellular eukaryotes, yeast as single-celled eukaryote and bacteria as single-celled prokaryote were placed in one group and plants were placed in a separate group. GC percentage of SQS protein was evaluated by GC Content Calculator, as well as aliphatic index and instability index by protparam. The results showed that the SQS gene is in a range from unstable to stable. The analysis of the presence of signal sequences and the analysis of the detection of the final location of the protein showed that the possibility of transferring the SQS protein to the mitochondria, chloroplast and secretory pathway is very low and it is not among the signal proteins. It was also found in Gymnema sylvestre that this protein has three protected domains. The comparison of the secondary structure of the protein confirmed the existence of alpha sheets. 3D modeling of this protein in plant was done by homology modeling method and using Swiss Model database after selecting a suitable model with high similarity which was extracted from PDB database. In order to validate the structure of the drawn three-dimensional model and stereochemical analysis, the Ramachandran diagram was drawn and the dihedral angles were calculated. The results of structural quality evaluation showed that the proposed models have good quality and stability. The study of the protein structure can help to understand the function of the protein, and studying the details of its structure can be useful in the studies of the active site of the protein and docking.
Bioinformatics
Aboozar Soorni; Parnian Karimzadeh; Samira Dehghani
Abstract
Thyme species are very important due to the production of secondary metabolites such as terpenoids. Since the identification of key genes such as genes related to terpenoids biosyntesis pathway can play an effective role in plant breeding programs, especially thyme species, the present study was aimed ...
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Thyme species are very important due to the production of secondary metabolites such as terpenoids. Since the identification of key genes such as genes related to terpenoids biosyntesis pathway can play an effective role in plant breeding programs, especially thyme species, the present study was aimed to investigate the transcriptomes of T. daenensis, T. vulgaris, T. lancifolius, T. persicus, T. pubescens to identify key genes in the biosynthesis of monoterpenoids, chloroplast genes sequence and evaluation of similarities and differences among these species. For this purpose, total RNAs extracted from vegetative growth were sent to Macrogene of Korea for sequencing with theIllumina HiSeq 2500 platform. After assembling the sequences using various tools, the best results was selected and transcripts were documented in different databases. Then, according to the documented results, key genes responsible in the synthesis of terpenoids and chloroplast gene sequence were identified, and then phylogenetic relationships among species was investigated. According to the evaluation indicators, the best assembly was a product of Binpacker tools. Based on the results, the sequence of 10 genes involved in the synthesis of terpenoids was obtained. Interestingly, among the identified TPSs, most of the contigs were classified into the TPSb and TPSa classes of terpenoids. The sequence of 73 chloroplast genes was extracted from the transcriptome data and finally the phylogenetic relationship was evaluated according to 400, 70 bp of cpDNA. The study of phylogenetic relationships showed a close genetic relationship between T. daenensi and T.vulgaris which can introduce T. daenensis as an appropriate replacement for T. vulgaris in different purpose, especially in pharmacological applications. The results show that Z. multiflora can most probably be as one of the ancestors of Thymus, which is significantly different from Thymus species in terms of its genetic structure, especially the key genes of the terpene biosynthesis pathway.
Bioinformatics
Atena AlKian Abadi; Hengameh Taheri; Ayeh Sadat Sadr
Abstract
Plants are able to acquire thermotolerance to the subsequent lethal stress through memorizing previous heat stress (HS) (Priming). A priming effect that can be sustained for several hours, days, or even generations after reverse heat stress, is called heat stress memory. The aim of this study was to ...
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Plants are able to acquire thermotolerance to the subsequent lethal stress through memorizing previous heat stress (HS) (Priming). A priming effect that can be sustained for several hours, days, or even generations after reverse heat stress, is called heat stress memory. The aim of this study was to identify effective key genes in establishing and maintaining heat stess memory. To achieve this, microarray data of the expression profile of Arabidopsis samples were retrieved from the GEO (Gene expression omnibus) database and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on their higher transcriptional activation following recurring stress (in P+T/P treatment comparison) and their sustained induction even 52 hours after stress relief (during memory phase).The identified genes were further analyzed by bioinformatics tools for gene ontology (GO) classification and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. GO terms analysis disclosed that the up-regulated DEGs were mainly associated with cellular response to heat, heat acclimation and protein folding. By clustering of PPI networks in the term related to response to heat (in P+T/P treatment comparison), several candidate genes involved in thermomemory were identified including HSP70T-2, HSP91, AR192, HSP60, HSP70, BIP2, J2, CLPB4, HOP3, HSP101, ROF1, HSFA3, HSFA2, HSP70B, CLPB3, FES1A, MBF1C. Also, based on the sustained differential expression of genes even 52 hours after the priming phase, it was determined that genes responsible for maintaining heat stress memory were mainly members of the small heat shock protein family (sHSPs) such as HSP17.6, HSP21, HSP17.6II, HAS32, HSP17.4, HSP18.2 and HSP22. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome) pathway analysis revealed that the HS memory genes were mainly involved in protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, the analysis of cis-regulatory elements in the promoter regions of the thermomemory genes revealed that the transcription factors families of bZIP, AP2;B3;RAV, MYB/SANT, HD-ZIP and GATA; tify had the highest binding sites in their upstream regions. In summary, these findings provide useful information about functional and regulatory analysis of genes involved in the establishment and maintenance of heat stress memory, as well as their protein network interactions. This information can be used to improve the heat tolerance capacity of plants under extreme heat stress.
Bioinformatics
Abbas Saidi; Zohreh Hajibarat; Mohammar Reza Ghaffari; Mehrshad Zeinalabedini
Abstract
Nitrogen is one of the most important components of biomolecules, amino acids, nucleotides, proteins, chlorophyll, and many plant hormones, which are essential and necessary for plant growth and development. In the condition of nitrogen deficiency very different responses such as yield reduction, leaf ...
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Nitrogen is one of the most important components of biomolecules, amino acids, nucleotides, proteins, chlorophyll, and many plant hormones, which are essential and necessary for plant growth and development. In the condition of nitrogen deficiency very different responses such as yield reduction, leaf chlorosis, plant growth and root structure formation appears in phenotypes of plants. In the last decade, to increase the amount of biomass and as a result the yield of plants, a wide use of nitrogen has attracted the attention of researchers. In this study, the expression analysis of seven nitrate transporter genes (NRT2) was investigated in Arabidopsis in response to nitrogen deficiency stress at 4 and 7 days after this stress. The expression analysis of NRT2.3 and NRT2.4 genes showed increased expression at 7 days after applying nitrogen deficiency stress. But all the genes did not show a significant increase in expression at 4 days after N stress application. NRT2.4 gene showed a significant increase in 4 and 7 days after applying nitrogen stress compared to other genes. Overall, our results showed that increased nitrate transporter gene expression in leaves contributes to nitrogen uptake for plant growth and nitrogen accumulation in response to long-term low nitrogen stress. These findings can lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of low nitrogen tolerance and therefore the increase of other cultivars with nitrogen deficiency stresses.
Bioinformatics
Abbas Saidi; Zohreh Hajibarat
Abstract
Calmodulin is a regulated protein of calcium and is a small intracellular protein that binds to calcium ions and mediates many of its intracellular actions. Calmodulin-binding transcription factors (CAMTAs) are recognized as one of the stress-responsive proteins. In this study, CAMTA genes were selected ...
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Calmodulin is a regulated protein of calcium and is a small intracellular protein that binds to calcium ions and mediates many of its intracellular actions. Calmodulin-binding transcription factors (CAMTAs) are recognized as one of the stress-responsive proteins. In this study, CAMTA genes were selected in maize. In this study, CAMTA family genes in maize were selected and chromosomal distribution, gene structure, domain patterns, and phylogenetic tree of CAMTA genes in maize were analyzed to further evaluate. To identify expression levels in different plant tissues, CAMTA gene expression analysis in response to heat stress and germination was studied. ZmCAMTA1 and ZmCAMTA2 genes were expressed in heat stress. Gene structure was similar in most proteins in each group, confirming the phylogenetic classification of CAMTA. Prediction of cis-elements in the promoter region of genes showed that bZIP and AP2 / ERF had the highest cis-elements in the promoter region of ZmCAMTA genes. In leaf tissue, ZmCAMTA1 gene was up-regulated expression in response to heat stress. ZmCAMTA2 gene was up-regulated in stem tissue in response to heat stress. The ZmCAMTA2 gene in response to increased expression germination showed that this study could be considered as a useful resource for future comparative studies of ZmCAMTA in different plant species and provide useful information for finding candidate genes in response to stress.
Bioinformatics
Maryam Ramezani; Farhad Nazarian-Firouzabadi; Ahmad Ismaili; Seyed Sajad Sohrabi
Abstract
Kelus (Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff.), a medicinal plant rich in active pharmaceutical ingredients with therapeutic effects, is found only in central Zagros Mountains, west of IRAN. Despite being in danger of extinction, there are no genetic evidences regarding kelus Omics as well as valuable compounds ...
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Kelus (Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff.), a medicinal plant rich in active pharmaceutical ingredients with therapeutic effects, is found only in central Zagros Mountains, west of IRAN. Despite being in danger of extinction, there are no genetic evidences regarding kelus Omics as well as valuable compounds biosynthesis pathways. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in different processes such as growth and development, cell proliferation, response to stresses and biosynthesis metabolite. As far as the bioinformatic data are concern, the genome/transcriptome of kelus has not been sequenced. The present study was performed to identify the conserved miRNAs and their target genes in the kelus leaf transcriptome. After pair-end sequencing with the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform, clean reads were assembled. In total, 4658 unigenes were found to contain potential miRNAs sequences. Following strict filtering criteria, five miRNAs belonging to five conserved miRNA families (miR156-3P, miR408, miR169, miR171 and miR398) were identified among candidate sequences. Results of this study revealed that the target genes of the identified miRNAs were involved in various metabolic pathways, including butanoate metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, peroxisome degradation, and fatty acid degradation. By affecting genes associated with six metabolic pathways, miR408 was identified as the most influential conserved microRNA in the kelus leaf transcriptome. In general, given the regulatory roles of identified miRNAs on broad spectrum of gene networks and biological processes of kelus, these miRNAs can be used as candidate genes for breeding kelus quantitative and qualitative traits.
Bioinformatics
Solmaz Azizi; Nasser Zare
Abstract
Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are non-heme iron-containing dioxygenases involved in the apoptotic (programmed cell death) pathway and biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. In the present study, we identified 95 LOX homologous genes from four Fabaceae species (Cicer arietinum, Glycine max, Phaseolus vulgaris, ...
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Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are non-heme iron-containing dioxygenases involved in the apoptotic (programmed cell death) pathway and biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. In the present study, we identified 95 LOX homologous genes from four Fabaceae species (Cicer arietinum, Glycine max, Phaseolus vulgaris, Medicago truncatula), which could be divided into 9-LOX, 13-LOX type I, and type II subgroups according to their phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis, rice, barley, and foxtail millet. LOX genes are distributed unevenly across the chromosomes, and their coding enzyme is active in the cytoplasm and chloroplast. These genes are intron rich, have six to nine introns, and are conserved in gene structure and intron phase. All identified genes have the conserved lipoxygenase and PLAT/LH2 domains. Several cis-acting elements related to hormones and stresses, such as ERE, MYB, and MYC in the LOXs promoters, indicated the role of these genes in plant development and responses to environmental stresses. In addition, different miRNA molecules were identified that regulate the post-transcriptional expression of LOXs genes through cleavage or inhibition of translation. Transcriptome data-based gene expression analysis showed that Glycine max LOXs expression pattern differed under abiotic stress conditions, and GmLOX4, GmLOX21, GmLOX25, GmLOX5, GmLOX22, GmLOX24, GmLOX14, GmLOX16, GmLOX7, and GmLOX26 were highly expressed in response to salt, drought, cold and heat stresses, indicating that they can improve the tolerance of Glycine max to abiotic stress. This study provides valuable information for a better understanding of the function of LOX genes and further exploration of the LOX gene family in Fabaceae.
Bioinformatics
Alireza Payriz; Leila Nejadsadeghi; Daryoosh Nabati Ahmadi
Abstract
MicroRNAs are main groups of small, non-coding molecules that regulate gene expression in animals and plants. Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) is plants known for their medicinal properties. To date, no miRNAs have beenidentified in T. ammi. Therefore, in the present study, a computational approach based ...
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MicroRNAs are main groups of small, non-coding molecules that regulate gene expression in animals and plants. Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) is plants known for their medicinal properties. To date, no miRNAs have beenidentified in T. ammi. Therefore, in the present study, a computational approach based on homology search through Blastx algorithm against mirbase database was used to predict miRNA and their target genes. The parameters of GC percentage, minimum folding free energy, minimum folding free energy index and secondary structure were determined and the sequences of miRNA precursor candidate were identified. In order to investigate the expression of selected genes using Real time PCR, an experiment was performed in a completely randomized design on the ajwain Arak ecotype at three levels of 0, 12 and 24 hours after methyl jasmonate application. A total of nine miRNAs including miR156, miR160, miR166, miR168, miR171, miR172, miR396, miR477 and miR827 were identified. It was estimated that they regulate 931 of T. ammi genes, which belong to several gene families with different biological functions. Jasmonate and its derivatives are plant signaling molecules. Therefore, miR160 and miR166 expression was evaluated by Real time PCR technique. The results showed that pri-miR160 and pri-miR166 was up-regulated in response to methyl jasmonate treatment, that indicated pri-miR160 and pri-miR166 were associated with hormone transfer.
Bioinformatics
Mozhdeh Arab; Seyed Kamal Kazemitabar; Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi-petroudi
Abstract
Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are a subfamily of calcium sensors that play a role in various plant cell processes and molecular functions. In sesame (Sesamum indicum), in silico analysis of the CBL gene family was performed to identify CBL proteins involved in calcium signaling. Using their orthologic ...
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Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are a subfamily of calcium sensors that play a role in various plant cell processes and molecular functions. In sesame (Sesamum indicum), in silico analysis of the CBL gene family was performed to identify CBL proteins involved in calcium signaling. Using their orthologic relationships with Arabidopsis homolog genes, the nine SiCBL genes were identified and subdivided into six groups: SiCBL1, SiCBL2, SiCBL3, SiCBL4, SiCBL8, SiCBL10. The molecular weight of SiCBL proteins ranged from 24.4 to 37.9 kDa, the Isoelectric acid pH range, the instability index ranged from 33.99 to 47.46 percent, the aliphatic index ranged from 80.29 to 10.89, and the GRAVY ranged from -0.420 to 0.061. Prediction of post-translational modifications revealed that palmitoylation motif was observed in all siCBL, however majority of them did not have myristoylaton motif. In term of gene structure, 11% of SiCBL genes had nine exons, 11% had eight exons and 77% had seven exons. The RNA-seq pattern of the SiCBL subfamily under PEG treatment revealed that, whereas members of this gene family had generally similar expression patterns in both susceptible and tolerant cultivars, due to functional Convergence, each member of this gene family had a distinct expression pattern. Future research on the expression of SiCBL and SiCIPK gene family genes under various abiotic conditions could aid in understanding the mechanism of expression control of SOS-related genes.
Bioinformatics
Samira Mohammadi; Ghorbanali Nematzadeh; Hamid Najafi Zarini; Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi-petroudi
Abstract
MicroRNAs are a large class of small and non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding target mRNA, which leads to cleavage or translational inhibition. Plant miR164 family is highly conserved and is involved in the responses of plants to biotic stresses through the regulation of their target ...
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MicroRNAs are a large class of small and non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding target mRNA, which leads to cleavage or translational inhibition. Plant miR164 family is highly conserved and is involved in the responses of plants to biotic stresses through the regulation of their target NAC genes. In the present study, 68 putative NAC domain-encoding genes (NACs) were identified in Aeluropus littoralis, a halophyte plant of family Poaceae. Among the AlNAC genes identified, 4 were predicted putative targets for regulation by miR164. The high conservation of miR164 recognition sites in AlNAC genes indicates the essential role of target sites in the normal function of these genes as transcription factors. Expression profile of AlNAC1L.1 candidate gene in response to salt and drought stresses and ABA phytohormone in leaf, stem and root tissues was analyzed by RT-qPCR. The results showed that AlNAC1L.1 gene down-regulated in all tissues at 6 hours after applying stresses. Among the treatments, 600 mM NaCl treatment reduced AlNAC1L.1 expression in leaf, stem and root tissues to about -217, -26 and -9 folds, respectively. Therefore, the AlNAC1L.1 which is ortholog of known Oryza miR164-targeted NAC gene OMTN6, may play negative regulatory role in response to salt, drought and ABA treatments. These results indicated that function of some NAC proteins might be conserved among species. Collectively, these findings provided a useful resource for further analysis of the interactions between NAC genes and their intricate regulation by miR164 in response to abiotic stresses.
Bioinformatics
Hadis Boroun; Amir Siahpoosh; Seyyed Mohsen Sohrabi; Mohammad Reza Nikbakht; Javad Ghasemian Yadegari; Mohsen Mohammadi; Seyed Sajad Sohrabi
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are one of the most important defense barriers of plants against a wide range of pathogens. The snakins attract special attention because they are one of the most important and main cysteine-rich peptides among plant anti-microbial peptides. In the present study, some snakin ...
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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are one of the most important defense barriers of plants against a wide range of pathogens. The snakins attract special attention because they are one of the most important and main cysteine-rich peptides among plant anti-microbial peptides. In the present study, some snakin gene family members were identified and characterized from onion (Allium cepa L.) using bioinformatics and experimental methods. All snakin protein sequences were retrieved from NCBI database. The snakin consensus sequence was obtained from alignment of retrieved sequences. Then, the consensus sequence was aligned against the onion transcriptome using tBLASTn tool. The resulting sequences were analyzed to determine the full-ORF, and to prediction of functional domains, signal peptides, subcellular localization, physicochemical properties, amino acid frequency and anti-microbial activity. The complete coding sequence of snakin genes were amplified by PCR. Finally, the presence of seven snakin genes, with an average ORF length of 332 bp, were confirmed in onion. The high similarity of the onion snakin genes with homologous snakin genes belonging to other plant species in terms of nucleotide and protein sequences as well as structural was revealed by bioinformatics analysis. The results also showed that all identified onion snakins had the potential antimicrobial activity. Due to the potential antimicrobial activity of identified peptides, by producing these peptides in different expression systems, they can be used as new antimicrobial agents against human, animal and plant pathogens.
Bioinformatics
Mozhdeh Arab; Hamid Najafi Zarrini; Ghorbanali Nematzadeh; Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi-petroudi
Abstract
The calcineurin B-like protein (CBL) is an essential calcium sensor that plays a crucial role in plant growth, development and stress responses. The identification of a cis-acting element in the promoter region of the CBL gene family in three plants, including Oryza sativa (OsCBL), Arabidopsis thaliana ...
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The calcineurin B-like protein (CBL) is an essential calcium sensor that plays a crucial role in plant growth, development and stress responses. The identification of a cis-acting element in the promoter region of the CBL gene family in three plants, including Oryza sativa (OsCBL), Arabidopsis thaliana (AtCBL), and Arabidopsis littoralis (AtCBL), was investigated because of their importance and involvement in signal transduction under abiotic and biological stresses. Sub-cellular localization of 10 AtCBL, 10 OsCBL and six AlCBL genes showed that AtCBL4, AtCBL10, AlCBL4.2, AlCBL4.3 and AlCBL10 proteins were located in the plasma membrane. 26 CBLs were identified and grouped into two major groups based on their orthologous relatedness in the phylogenetic tree. According to a comparative analysis of the gene structure of the CBLs gene family, about 66 percent of AlCBL genes, 60 percent of AtCBL genes, and 80 percent of OsCBL genes had eight exons and seven introns. Cis-regulatory elements were identified and grouped into eight distinct classes. The ABRE, ARE, GC motif, MBS, DRE, STRE, and LTR motifs were essential stress-related elements. Different regulatory mechanisms in the promoter region of AtCBLs are responsible for their distinct expression patterns, which are regulated by numerous tissue-specific and stress-specific cis-elements. The functional analysis of AlCBL4.2 (which contains six as-1 motifs) will provide useful information about this gene's regulatory processes due to its tissue-specific and enhancer feature of as-1 motif.
Bioinformatics
Mozhdeh Arab; Hamid Najafi zarrini; Ghorbanali Nematzadeh; Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi-petroudi
Abstract
Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CPK), as a member of Ser/Thr kinases superfamily, plays a vital role in responding and adapting to biotic and abiotic stresses. The halophyte plant, Aeluropus littoralis, has been considered an attractive model to improve genetic resources of crops and plant stress genomic ...
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Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CPK), as a member of Ser/Thr kinases superfamily, plays a vital role in responding and adapting to biotic and abiotic stresses. The halophyte plant, Aeluropus littoralis, has been considered an attractive model to improve genetic resources of crops and plant stress genomic research. In order to identify the A. littoralis CPK gene family, the whole genome sequences were used to analyze the phylogenetic relationships, exon/intron structure, protein motif/domain organization and the prediction of protein-protein interaction networks. Fourteen AlCPK genes were identified in A. littoralis that were homologous to nine Arabidopsis thaliana CPK genes. The protein domain analysis of AlCPK showed that all studied genes belong to the CPK family due to having several EF-hand (except for AlCPK29.2, which does not have an EF-hand domain) and Kinase domains. AlCPK29.2 protein had the lowest molecular weight and aliphatic index, the highest instability index and gravy among the studied proteins. Gene structure analysis showed that most of AlCPKs (69.8%) have more than seven exons. Besides, AlCPK8 protein was predicted with two N-myristoylation and two palmitoylation motifs, while CPK34.1 protein lacked N-myristoylation, and palmitoylation motif and AlCPK5.1 protein had three palmitoylation motifs. Transcriptome analysis of 34 members of the AtCPK gene family in five abiotic stresses showed that AtCPK genes had diverse expression at different treatments, which could be evidence for AtCPK tissue/ stress-specific expression. The ABF4 gene was identified as one of the components of ABA signaling in AlCPK protein-protein interactions. The findings of this research can be used to classify the roles and pathways of the stress response by studying AlCIPK gene expression under different abiotic stresses.
