Browsing by Author "Sharma, Himanshu"

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Bread wheat with enhanced grain carotenoid content: a novel option for wheat biofortification
(Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2022) Padhy, Asish Kumar; Sharma, Achla; Sharma, Himanshu; Rajput, Ruchika; Pandey, Ashutosh; Srivastava, Puja; Kaur, Satinder; Kaur, Harinderjit; Singh, Satinder; Kashyap, Lenika; Mavi, Gurvinder Singh; Kaur, Jaspal; Sohu, Virinder Singh; Chhuneja, Parveen; Bains, Navtej Singh
Colored wheat has piqued the interest of breeders and consumers alike. The chromosomal segment from 7E of Thinopyrum ponticum, which carries a leaf rust resistant gene, Lr19, has been rarely employed in wheat breeding operations due to its association with the Y gene, which gives a yellow tint to the flour. By prioritizing nutritional content over color preferences, consumer acceptance has undergone a paradigm change. Through marker-assisted backcross breeding, we introduced an alien segment harboring the Y (PsyE1) gene into a high yielding commercial bread wheat (HD 2967) background to generate rust resistant carotenoid biofortified bread wheat. Agro-morphological characterization was also performed on a subset of developed 70 lines having enhanced grain carotene content. In the introgression lines, carotenoid profiling using HPLC analysis demonstrated a considerable increase in β-carotene levels (up to 12 ppm). Thus, the developed germplasm caters the threat to nutritional security and can be utilized to produce carotenoid fortified wheat.
In silico characterization of Thinopyrum elongatum-derived PsyE1 gene and validation in 7D/7E bread wheat introgression lines open avenues for carotenoid biofortification in wheat
(Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2023) Padhy, Asish Kumar; Kaur, Parampreet; Singh, Baljinder; Kaur, Ravinder; Bhatia, Sabhyata; Shamshad, M.; Sharma, Himanshu; Kaur, Satinder; Srivastava, Puja; Sharma, Achla
Current global scenario demands agricultural productivity of food grains to be kept at abreast with burgeoning population. Cereals constitute major food stuff for millennia and biofortification of new cereal varieties provides an opportunity to tackle global-scale malnutrition deficiencies without doing major shifts in the diets. Carotenoid biofortification in wheat grains has recently caught the attention of breeders owing to a myriad of health benefits offered by this micronutrient. Thinopyrum elongatum-derived PsyE1 gene encoding for Phytoene Synthase encoding Y gene, is a jackpot to enhance the carotenoid content in wheat. The present study is the first report deciphering detailed in silico characterization of Thinopyrum elongatum-derived PsyE1 gene and its protein. Promoter analysis of chloroplast localized PsyE1 gene provides clues about its possible role in stress resistance along with enhancing the carotenoid content in both durum and bread wheat. Homology, phylogeny and protein modelling studies of PsyE1 revealed its closer evolutionary relationship with barley and wheat, as well as provided a preliminary insight into catalytic and secondary structure of the protein. PCR validation of PsyE1 in 7D/7E bread wheat introgression lines further facilitated development of functional marker that could be used to track its introgression in elite bread wheat varieties. Overall, these detailed insilico insights into structure, function and validation of PsyE1 open doors for its deployment in to produce carotene biofortified hexaploid wheat through facilitating development of functional markers and MAS, as well as to elucidate its mechanism of action and regulation in response to external stimuli.
Molecular characterization revealed the role of thaumatin-like proteins of bread wheat in stress response
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022) Sharma, Alok; Sharma, Himanshu; Rajput, Ruchika; Pandey, Ashutosh; Upadhyay, Santosh Kumar
Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) are related to pathogenesis-related-5 (PR-5) family and involved in stress response. Herein, a total of 93 TLP genes were identified in the genome of Triticum aestivum. Further, we identified 26, 27, 39, and 37 TLP genes in the Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, Sorghum bicolor, and Zea mays genomes for comparative characterization, respectively. They could be grouped into small and long TLPs with conserved thaumatin signature motif. Tightly clustered genes exhibited conserved gene and protein structure. The physicochemical analyses suggested significant differences between small and long TLPs. Evolutionary analyses suggested the role of duplication events and purifying selection in the expansion of the TLP gene family. Expression analyses revealed the possible roles of TLPs in plant development and abiotic and fungal stress response. Recombinant expression of TaTLP2-B in Saccharomyces cerevisiae provided significant tolerance against cold, heat, osmotic, and salt stresses. The results depicted the importance of TLPs in cereal crops that would be highly useful in future crop improvement programs.
Molecular characterization, evolutionary analysis, and expression profiling of BOR genes in important cereals
(MDPI AG, 2022) Sharma, Himanshu; Sharma, Alok; Rajput, Ruchika; Sidhu, Sukhjeet; Dhillon, Harpal; Verma, Praveen Chandra; Pandey, Ashutosh; Upadhyay, Santosh Kumar
Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient of plants. Plants grapple with a narrow range of B between its toxicity and deficiency. B homeostasis mechanism is required to rescue plants from such a quagmire. B transporters are specialized proteins involved in the homeostasis of B. In the present study, a total of 29 BOR genes were identified in five major cereals, including three BORs in each Brachypodium distachyon and Sorghum bicolor, four in Oryza sativa, six in Zea mays, and 13 in Triticum aestivum. Multiple sequence alignments, domain structure analyses, and phylogenetic analysis indicated the conserved nature of the BOR protein family. Duplication events and Ka/Ks analysis of TaBORs showed the role of segmental duplication events and purifying selection in the expansion of the BOR family in T. aestivum. Furthermore, in silico expression and co-expression analyses under biotic and abiotic stress conditions depicted their involvement in combating such conditions. Moreover, qRT-PCR of TaBORs in B treatment suggested the roles of BOR genes in B stress management. The present study hints at the conserved nature of BOR proteins and their different aspects. The study will lay down a way for several crop improvement programs.