Browsing by Author "Sharma, Arun K."

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Genome-wide analysis of auxin response factor (ARF) gene gamily from tomato and analysis of their role in flower and fruit development
(Springer Science, 2011) Kumar, Rahul; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Sharma, Arun K.
Auxin response transcription factors have been widely implicated in auxin-mediated responses during various developmental processes ranging from root and shoot development to flower and fruit development in plants. In order to use them for improvement of agronomic traits related to fruit, we need to have better understanding of their role during fruit development. In this study, 17 SlARF genes have been identified from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), using various publically available tomato EST databases. Phylogenetic analysis of the 23 AtARF and 17 SlARF proteins results in formation of three major classes and a total of 14 sister pairs, including seven SlARF-AtARF, four SlARF-SlARF and three AtARF-AtARF sister pairs, providing insights into various orthologous relationships between AtARFs and SlARFs. Further, search for orthologs of these SlARFs resulted in identification of nine, ten, four and three ARF genes from potato, tobacco, N. benthemiana and pepper, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis of these genes, along with their orthologs from Solanaceae species, suggests the presence of a common set of the ARF genes in this family. Comparison of the expression of these SlARF genes in wild type and rin mutant provides an insight into their role during different stages of flower and fruit development. This study suggests that ARF genes may play diverse role during flower and fruit development. Comprehensive data generated here will provide a platform for identification of ARF genes and elucidation of their function during reproductive development stages in Solanaceae in general and fruit development in tomato, in particular.
Genome-wide investigation and expression analysis suggest diverse roles of auxin-responsive GH3 genes during development and response to different stimuli in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
(Springer Science, 2012) Kumar, Rahul; Agarwal, Priyanka; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Sharma, Arun K.
In plants, auxin-mediated responses are regulated by diverse proteins. One such class of proteins, i.e. GH3, is involved in the conjugation of IAA to amino acids and provides a negative feedback loop to control auxin homoeostasis. In order to have a better understanding of the mechanism of the auxin action, 15 genes encoding GH3 members were identified using existing EST databases of tomato. Their orthologs were identified from tobacco, potato, N. benthemiana, pepper, and petunia. Phylogenetic analysis of AtGH3, SlGH3, and their Solanaceae orthologs provided insights into various orthologous relationships among these proteins. These genes were found to be responsive to a variety of signals including, phytohormones and environmental stresses. Analysis of AuxRE elements in their promoters showed variability in the sequence as well as number of this element. Up-regulation of only 11 SlGH3 genes, in response to exogenous auxin, suggested possible relationship between the diversity in the sequence and number of AuxRE element with the auxin inducibility. Expression analysis of SlGH3 genes in different vegetative and reproductive tissues/stages suggested limited or no role for most of the SlGH3 genes at the initiation of fruit ripening. However, up-regulation of SlGH3-1 and -2 at the onset of fruit ripening indicates that these genes could have a role in fruit ripening. The present study characterizes GH3 gene family of tomato and its evolutionary relationship with members of this family from other Solanaceae species and Arabidopsis. It could help in the identification of GH3 genes and revelation of their function during vegetative/reproductive development stages from other Solanaceae members.
Genomic survey, gene expression, and interaction analysis suggest diverse roles of ARF and Aux/IAA proteins in Solanaceae
(Springer, 2015) Kumar, Rahul; Agarwal, Priyanka; Pareek, Amit; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Sharma, Arun K.
Auxin response factor (ARF) and Auxin/INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID (Aux/IAA) proteins are the foremost regulators of auxin action and play an essential role in the coordination of many aspects of plant growth and development. Though many members of both ARF and Aux/IAA gene families have been identified and characterized in tomato, they are less studied in other Solanaceae species. In the present study, we focused on gaining insights into their functional conservation as well as diversification during auxin-mediated responses in Solanaceae. First, we identified their full complement in tomato, potato, pepper, Nicotiana benthamiana, eggplant, and petunia and found that both the gene families have expanded in N. benthamiana. We also looked into the structural variations associated with all the members of these two classes of genes in tomato and showed that huge natural variation exists in their sequence in wild relatives. The comprehensive gene expression analysis provided evidence of high conservation in the expression of orthologous ARFs and Aux/IAAs during fruit development and ripening in tomato and pepper. Furthermore, the molecular changes caused by exogenous plant hormones and abiotic stress conditions on their transcript levels were investigated which showed that many members of both the gene families may participate in various hormone- and stress-mediated responses in tomato and potato. Some of these genes may play a role in linking the hormone-controlled plant growth and stress-related signaling pathways. Finally, we demonstrate that single tomato ARF can interact with multiple Aux/IAA proteins and vice versa. Overall, our study will be very helpful in establishing both conserved as well as non-conserved functions of these genes in Solanaceae.
Identification, phylogeny and transcript profiling of ERF family genes during development and abiotic stress treatments in tomato
(Springer, 2010) Sharma, Manoj K.; Kumar, Rahul; Solanke, Amolkumar U.; Sharma, Rita; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Sharma, Arun K.
Ethylene responsive transcription factors have been shown to be intimately connected to plant development, defense responses and stress signaling pathways and in order to use them for plant improvement, we need to have better understanding of these proteins. In this study, 85 ERF genes have been identified from tomato using raw EST data in various public repositories. Phylogenetic analysis with tomato ERF domains revealed their distribution in all the groups, previously identified in model systems. MEME motif analysis resulted in identification of conserved domains, characteristic to member of each clade, in addition to ERF domain. Expression analysis during vegetative and reproductive stages of development using QPCR and tomato GeneChip arrays, revealed their tissue-specific/preferential accumulation. In total, 57 genes were found to be differentially expressed during temporal stages of tomato fruit development. The expression analysis of 23 ERF family genes representing each clade in response to seven abiotic stress treatments revealed their differential expression in response to more than one abiotic stress treatments. Results suggest that ERF genes play diverse roles in plant's life and comprehensive data generated will be helpful in conducting functional genomics studies to understand their precise role during plant development and stress response.
Rice A20/AN1 protein, OsSAP10, confers water-deficit stress tolerance via proteasome pathway and positive regulation of ABA signaling in Arabidopsis
(Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2024) Vashisth, Vishal; Sharma, Gunjan; Giri, Jitender; Sharma, Arun K.; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.
Overexpression of rice A20/AN1 zinc-finger protein, OsSAP10, improves water-deficit stress tolerance in Arabidopsis via interaction with multiple proteins. Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) constitute a class of A20/AN1 zinc-finger domain containing proteins and their genes are induced in response to multiple abiotic stresses. The role of certain SAP genes in conferring abiotic stress tolerance is well established, but their mechanism of action is poorly understood. To improve our understanding of SAP gene functions, OsSAP10, a stress-inducible rice gene, was chosen for the functional and molecular characterization. To elucidate its role in water-deficit stress (WDS) response, we aimed to functionally characterize its roles in transgenic Arabidopsis, overexpressing OsSAP10. OsSAP10 transgenics showed improved tolerance to water-deficit stress at seed germination, seedling and mature plant stages. At physiological and biochemical levels, OsSAP10 transgenics exhibited a higher survival rate, increased relative water content, high osmolyte accumulation (proline and soluble sugar), reduced water loss, low ROS production, low MDA content and protected yield loss under WDS relative to wild type (WT). Moreover, transgenics were hypersensitive to ABA treatment with enhanced ABA signaling and stress-responsive genes expression. The protein-protein interaction studies revealed that OsSAP10 interacts with proteins involved in proteasomal pathway, such as OsRAD23, polyubiquitin and with negative and positive regulators of stress signaling, i.e., OsMBP1.2, OsDRIP2, OsSCP and OsAMTR1. The A20 domain was found to be crucial for most interactions but insufficient for all interactions tested. Overall, our investigations suggest that OsSAP10 is an important candidate for improving water-deficit stress tolerance in plants, and positively regulates ABA and WDS signaling via protein-protein interactions and modulation of endogenous genes expression in ABA-dependent manner.
Transcriptome analysis of rin mutant fruit and in silico analysis of promoters of differentially regulated genes provides insight into LeMADS-RIN-regulated ethylene-dependent as well as ethylene-independent aspects of ripening in tomato
(Springer Science, 2012) Kumar, Rahul; Sharma, Manoj K.; Kapoor, Sanjay; Tyagi, Akhilesh K.; Sharma, Arun K.
A thorough understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying ripening is the prerequisite for genetic manipulation of fruits for better shelf-life and nutritional quality. Mutation in LeMADS-RIN, a MADS-box gene, leads to non-ripening phenotype of rin fruits in tomato. Characterization of ripening-inhibitor (rin) mutant has elucidated important role of ethylene in the regulation of climacteric fruit ripening. A complete understanding of this mutation will unravel novel genetic regulatory mechanisms involved in fruit ripening. In this study, fruit transcriptomes of two genotypes, including a cultivated Indian cultivar Solanum lycopersicum cv. Pusa Ruby and a homozygous line harboring the rin mutation (LA1795) were compared to get better insight into RIN-regulated ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent events during ripening. Cluster analysis of ripening-related genes indicated a major shift in their expression profiles in rin mutant fruit. A total of 112 genes, exhibiting expression patterns similar to that of LeMADS-RIN in wild-type fruits, showed down regulation of expression in the rin mutant. In silico analysis of putative promoters of these genes for the presence of CArG box along with ERE and ethylene inducibility of these genes revealed that genes lacking CArG box in their regulatory regions could be indirectly regulated by LeMADS-RIN. New regulators of ethylene-dependent aspect of ripening were also identified. In this study, we have made an attempt to distinguish between ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent aspects of ripening, which will be useful for developing strategies to improve fruit-related agronomic traits in tomato and other crops.