Institutional Publications

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://ndkr-library.nipgr.ac.in/handle/123456789/11

Browse

Author: search.filters.author.Sinharoy, SenjutiSubject: search.filters.subject.chickpea

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Trans-QTL alliance of HKT1 and PHL7 modulate salinity stress tolerance and enhance crop yield endurance
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2026) Mohanty, Jitendra K.; Yadav, Antima; Narnoliya, Laxmi; Thakro, Virevol; Rathore, Deepanshi; Tripathi, Shailesh; Sinharoy, Senjuti; Agarwal, Pinky; Parida, Swarup K.
    Salinity stress can cause significant yield losses in crops because of its major impact on reproductive success. The complexity of salinity stress responses, particularly their tissue- and cell-specific regulation, continues to challenge the translation of molecular insights into tangible crop yield improvements. In the present study, the authors deployed a genomic strategy combining a genome-wide association study, regional association analysis, QTL mapping, fine mapping, and map-based cloning to delineate a pair of novel CaPHL7 and CaHKT1 alleles that regulate yield under salinity stress. The selected contrasting accessions, developed near-isogenic lines (NILs), overexpressed chickpea lines and complemented Arabidopsis lines collectively underscore the functional significance of the identified alleles in relaying yield endurance under salinity stress conditions. Functional characterisation of the genes revealed the intricate transcriptional regulation of CaHKT1 by CaPHL7, which influences the degree of salinity stress tolerance. Furthermore, in our efforts to enhance yield endurance, we discovered a novel regulatory role for the phosphorus (P) starvation-responsive gene (PHL7) in legumes, facilitating salinity stress adaptation. This study provides the first functional validation of a trans-QTL regulatory model in chickpea, where CaPHL7, located on one chromosome, transcriptionally activates CaHKT1 on a separate chromosome. The regulatory mechanism plays a key role in excluding sodium from the transpiration stream, thereby protecting reproductive processes from salinity-induced damage and mitigating yield penalties. This inter-locus regulation explains yield stability and offers useful insights that may be considered in future efforts to enhance salt resilience in chickpea.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Drought stress exacerbates fungal colonization and endodermal invasion and dampens defense responses to increase dry root rot in chickpea
    (American Phytopathological Society, 2022) Irulappan, Vadivelmurugan; Kandpal, Manu; Saini, Kumud; Rai, Avanish; Ranjan, Aashish; Sinharoy, Senjuti; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa
    Drought plays a central role in increasing the incidence and severity of dry root rot (DRR) disease in chickpea. This is an economically devastating disease, compromising chickpea yields particularly severely in recent years due to erratic rainfall patterns. Macrophomina phaseolina (formerly Rhizoctonia bataticola) is the causal agent of DRR disease in the chickpea plant. The infection pattern in chickpea roots under well-watered conditions and drought stress are poorly understood at present. This study provides detailed disease symptomatology and the characteristics of DRR fungus at morphological and molecular levels. Using microscopy techniques, the infection pattern of DRR fungus in susceptible chickpea roots was investigated under well-watered and drought stress conditions. Our observations suggested that drought stress intensifies the progression of already ongoing infection by weakening the endodermal barrier and overall defense. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that the plant’s innate immune defense program is downregulated in infected roots when subjected to drought stress. Further, genes involved in hormonal regulation are differentially expressed under drought stress. These findings provide hints in terms of potential chickpea genes to target in crop improvement programs to develop climate change-resilient cultivars.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A toolbox for nodule development studies in chickpea: a hairy-root transformation protocol and an efficient laboratory strain of Mesorhizobium sp.
    (American Phytopathological Society, 2019) Mandal, Drishti; Sinharoy, Senjuti
    Mesorhizobium sp. produces root nodules in chickpea. Chickpea and model legume Medicago truncatula are members of inverted repeat lacking clade (IRLC). The rhizobia after internalization into the plant cell are called 'bacteroid'. Nodule Specific Cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides in IRLC legumes guide bacteroids to a 'terminally differentiated swollen (TDS)' form. Bacteroids in chickpea are less TDS than those in Medicago. Nodule development in chickpea indicates recent evolutionary diversification and merits further study. A hairy root transformation protocol and an efficient laboratory strain are prerequisites for performing any genetic study on nodulation. We have standardized a protocol for composite plant generation in chickpea with a transformation frequency above 50 %, as shown by fluorescent markers. This protocol also works well in different ecotypes of chickpea. Localization of subcellular markers in these transformed roots is similar to the localization observed in transformed Medicago roots. When checked inside transformed nodules, peroxisomes were concentrated along the periphery of the nodules, while ER and Golgi bodies surrounded the symbiosomes. Different Mesorhizobium strains were evaluated for their ability to initiate nodule development and efficiency of nitrogen fixation. Inoculation with different strains resulted in different shapes of TDS bacteroids with variable nitrogen fixation. Our study provides a toolbox to study nodule development in the crop legume chickpea.