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Comparative Root Transcriptomics Provide Insights into Drought Adaptation Strategies in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11509/
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21051781
doi:10.3390/ijms21051781
 
Title Comparative Root Transcriptomics Provide Insights into Drought Adaptation Strategies in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
 
Creator Bhaskarla, V
Zinta, G
Ford, R
Jain, M
Varshney, R K
Mantri, N
 
Subject Abiotic Stress
Chickpea
Drought
Genetics and Genomics
Legume Crops
 
Description Drought adversely affects crop production across the globe. The root system immensely
contributes to water management and the adaptability of plants to drought stress. In this study,
drought-inducedphenotypic andtranscriptomic responses of two contrasting chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
genotypes were compared at the vegetative, reproductive transition, and reproductive stages.
At the vegetative stage, drought-tolerant genotype maintained higher root biomass, length, and surface
area under drought stress as compared to sensitive genotype. However, at the reproductive stage,
root length and surface area of tolerant genotype was lower but displayed higher root diameter than
sensitive genotype. The shoot biomass of tolerant genotype was overall higher than the sensitive
genotype under drought stress. RNA-seq analysis identified genotype- and developmental-stage specific
differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to drought stress. At the vegetative stage, a total of
2161 and 1873 DEGs, and at reproductive stage 4109 and 3772 DEGs, were identified in the tolerant
and sensitive genotypes, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed enrichment of biological
categories related to cellular process, metabolic process, response to stimulus, response to abiotic stress,
and response to hormones. Interestingly, the expression of stress-responsive transcription factors, kinases,
ROS signaling and scavenging, transporters, root nodulation, and oxylipin biosynthesis genes were
robustly upregulated in the tolerant genotype, possibly contributing to drought adaptation. Furthermore,
activation/repression of hormone signaling and biosynthesis genes was observed. Overall, this study
sheds new insights on drought tolerance mechanisms operating in roots with broader implications for
chickpea improvement.
 
Publisher MDPI
 
Date 2020-03
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11509/1/ijms-21-01781.pdf
Bhaskarla, V and Zinta, G and Ford, R and Jain, M and Varshney, R K and Mantri, N (2020) Comparative Root Transcriptomics Provide Insights into Drought Adaptation Strategies in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). International Journal of Molecular Sciences (TSI), 21 (1781). pp. 1-20. ISSN 1422-0067