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Subject: search.filters.subject.Cicer arietinum

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    Chickpea chitinases responsive to Helicoverpa herbivory and phytohormone signaling: genome-wide identification, field expression profiling, and structure-guided prioritization
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2026) Konda, Aravind Kumar; Annapragada, Harika; G K, Sujayanand; Singh, Pooja; Bhuvanachandra, Bhoopal; Chinnasamy, Hariharan V; Dixit, Girish Prasad; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis; Matheshwaran, Saravanan
    Background: Chitinases can contribute to plant defence against fungal pathogens and insect herbivores, but their family organization, inducible deployment, and putative ligand-recognition behaviour remain poorly resolved in chickpea. We combined genome-wide identification, field expression profiling under controlled Helicoverpa armigera infestation, hormone treatments, and structure-guided comparison of representative proteins to prioritize defence-associated chickpea chitinases. Results: We identified 28 chickpea chitinase loci (Car_Chits), comprising 22 glycosyl hydrolase family 18 (GH18) genes and 6 GH19 genes. Local duplication, especially tandem duplication within GH18, was the main contributor to family expansion, and interpretable duplicate pairs were retained mainly under purifying selection. Promoter scans indicated broad enrichment of defence- and hormone-associated cis-elements. Field quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) profiling of 11 candidate genes in field-grown plants subjected to controlled H. armigera infestation and hormone treatments showed treatment-specific temporal regulation. Car_Chit-4 (GH19) was strongly induced by salicylic acid (7.81-fold at 0.5 h; q < 0.05) but transiently repressed shortly after H. armigera feeding (0.15-fold at 0.5 h; q = 0.030). Car_Chit-19 (GH18) was the clearest herbivory-responsive gene, with late induction at 8 h (1.62-fold; q = 0.050) and 48 h (1.85-fold; q = 0.050). Jasmonic acid caused broad early repression across several genes, followed by delayed induction of Car_Chit-4 at 24 h. Seven Car_Chit-(GlcNAc)₄ complexes were modelled, docked, and simulated for 100 ns. GH18 proteins generally showed more favourable predicted MM-PBSA binding energies than GH19 proteins, but the structural metrics were interpreted as relative ligand-recognition indicators rather than direct evidence of anti-herbivore function. Car_Chit-17 had the most favourable predicted binding energy (ΔG_bind = - 18.51 ± 6.75 kcal/mol), whereas Car_Chit-14 and Car_Chit-27 retained the most stable ligand poses and Car_Chit-19 displayed the most stable protein scaffold. Conclusions: Chickpea chitinases show differentiated temporal responses to herbivory and hormone signalling. The study supports a working model in which GH19 Car_Chit-4 marks a rapid salicylic-acid-responsive arm, whereas GH18 Car_Chit-19 marks a delayed herbivory-responsive arm. A tiered prioritization framework separates expression-deployed candidates from structure-guided biochemical candidates, explaining why different genes emerge from qRT-PCR and molecular modelling analyses. The structural analyses provide complementary prioritization of Car_Chit-17, Car_Chit-14, and Car_Chit-27 for biochemical characterization. Together, these results provide a resource for dissecting chitinase-mediated defence in chickpea and for selecting candidates for functional validation.
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    Genotypic variability and trait associations for cold stress tolerance in cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) during the reproductive stage
    (PLOS, 2026) Padhiar, Deeksha; Kaur, Sarbjeet; Parida, Swarup K.; Jha, Uday C; Shama, Kamal Dev; Prasad, Pagadala Venkat Vara; Siddique, Kadambot H M; Nayyar, Harsh
    Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a major winter legume in northern South Asia and Australia, frequently encounters low temperatures (0–15 °C) during reproduction, causing substantial yield losses. The present study involved screening two independent sets of 100 genotypes over consecutive winters to identify sources of reproductive-stage cold tolerance and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Following outdoor establishment, plants were exposed to controlled cold stress (15/7 °C day/night) during flowering and pod development (15 d) in walk-in growth chambers. Ten representative cold-tolerant (CT) and ten cold-sensitive (CS) genotypes were selected each year based on integrated performance across yield, physiological, biochemical, and reproductive traits for a detailed mechanistic analysis. Cold-sensitive genotypes exhibited severe dysfunction, characterized by high electrolyte leakage (50−59% above CT) and malondialdehyde (39−51% above CT), indicating membrane damage. Reduced chlorophyll content (21−23%), photosystem II efficiency (23−29%), and stomatal conductance (40−43%) impaired photosynthesis. Inadequate cryoprotectants (reduced by 25−58%) and antioxidants (reduced by 38−55%) caused oxidative damage. Reproductive collapse followed, with pollen viability and germination declining by 24−46%, stigma receptivity and ovule viability decreasing by 41−68%, and seed yields falling by 85−95%. Cold-tolerant genotypes-maintained homeostasis through integrated protection in terms of superior membrane stability, enhanced compatible solutes, and elevated antioxidant activities, which sustained photosynthesis and reproductive success, achieving better yields under cold stress. Principal component analysis revealed cold tolerance as an integrated system (PC1:72.6–81.3% variance), clearly separating the CT from the CS genotypes. Membrane stability, photosynthetic efficiency, and pollen viability emerged as diagnostic traits (r = 0.85–0.91 with yield, p < 0.001; heritability 70−99%). Tolerance operated independently of maturity (R² = 0.10–0.18), enabling donor identification across maturity classes. Twenty cold-tolerant genotypes were identified, spanning the early, medium, and late maturity groups, respectively. These findings establish a mechanistic understanding of reproductive-stage cold tolerance, provide vital selection markers, and identify genetic resources for breeding cold-resilient chickpea cultivars.
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    Molecular and expression analyses indicate the role of fusion transcripts in mediating abiotic stress responses in chickpea
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2025) Hamid, Fiza; Zahra, Shafaque; Kumar, Shailesh
    Understanding the transcriptome diversity is essential for deciphering the transcriptional level regulation. High-throughput sequencing technologies have facilitated the detection of fusion transcripts (FTs), which are chimeric mRNA molecules derived from gene fusions due to chromosomal rearrangements or via the splicing machinery at the RNA level. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome complexity in Cicer arietinum resulting from fusion events using high-throughput RNA-Seq datasets from five tissues, i.e., stem, leaves, buds, flowers, and pods, and two abiotic stress conditions, i.e., drought and salinity. Of the 328 unique FTs identified, 69% exhibited the presence of canonical splice sites at their junction, indicating their generation via trans-splicing. Functional annotation and enrichment analyses of fusion partners suggested that these transcripts may expand functional diversity. A total of 10 FTs were validated via RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing, which are the first FTs described in the important legume chickpea. Expression analysis of fusion transcripts across various tissues and under abiotic stress conditions revealed evidence of context-dependent regulation. Furthermore, 120 fusion gene pairs were found to be conserved across 17 chickpea genotypes, highlighting their potential biological significance and stability within the species. Overall, these findings suggest that fusion transcripts may contribute to regulatory mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses in chickpea.
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    TAIL-PCR for the recovery of Tnt1 flanking sequences in chickpea: a tool for functional genomics studies
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2026) Chauhan, Chetan; Ranjan, Shubhashish; Jangid, Vinod Kumar; Sinharoy, Senjuti; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa
    Thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction (TAIL-PCR) is a powerful technique for amplifying genomic regions flanking Tnt1-retortransposon insertions in plants. Here, we present a TAIL-PCR protocol for amplifying Tnt1-flanking genomic sequences in chickpea using Tnt1-transformed hairy roots as the starting material. The amplified products can be cloned and sequenced for the precise mapping of Tnt1-integration sites in the chickpea genome. This method enables the functional characterization of chickpea genes governing root-specific traits and can be easily adapted for flanking sequence tag recovery in chickpea Tnt1-mutant populations.
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    Differential resilience of chickpea's reproductive organs to cold stress across developmental stages: insights into antioxidant strategies for enhanced fertility
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2025) Padhiar, Deeksha; Kaur, Sarbjeet; Jha, Uday Chand; Prasad, P. V. Vara; Sharma, Kamal Dev; Kumar, Sanjeev; Parida, Swarup Kumar; Siddique, Kadambot H M; Nayyar, Harsh
    Chickpea is highly sensitive to cold stress during its reproductive stages, leading to significant reductions in potential pod formation due to decreased reproductive success. This study aimed to investigate the specific responses of anthers and ovules to cold stress, explore the role of oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms, and understand the relationship between oxidative stress and reproductive function to enhance our understanding of chickpea responses to cold stress. Chickpea seeds of contrasting genotypes—cold-tolerant (ICC 17258, ICC 16349) and cold-sensitive (ICC 15567, GPF 2)—were sown outdoors in early November under optimal conditions (25.5/15.4°C mean day/night temperatures). At 50 days after sowing, plants were subjected to 13/7°C cold stress (12 h light/dark in walk-in growth chambers. Cold stress significantly increased membrane damage and reduced cellular viability in anthers and ovules, particularly in cold-sensitive (CS) genotypes. Oxidative damage was more pronounced in anthers, particularly at anthesis (stage 2), as indicated by elevated malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide levels. Cold-tolerant (CT) genotypes exhibited increased antioxidant activity under stress, especially at pre-anthesis (stage 1), followed by declines at later stage, although responses varied by genotype. Anthers exhibited higher overall antioxidants activity than ovules, while ovules demonstrated notably high catalase activity. Among the antioxidants studied, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase were most prominent in the CT genotype, along with higher levels of ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH), highlighting the critical role of the AsA–GSH cycle in conferring cold tolerance to chickpea. Exogenous supplementation with 1 mM ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) significantly stimulated pollen germination in cold-stressed plants under in vitro conditions, with a greater effect observed in CS genotypes. Furthermore, antioxidant activity strongly correlated with key reproductive traits such as pollen germination and ovule viability. This study revealed that the anthers and ovules exhibited distinct responses to cold stress, with significant genotypic differences across key reproductive stages. These insights provide a deeper understanding of cold tolerance mechanisms in chickpea and provide vital clues for breeding strategies to enhance resilience and reproductive success under cold stress.
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    Combining extracellular matrix proteome and phosphoproteome of chickpea and meta-analysis reveal novel proteoforms and evolutionary significance of clade-specific wall-associated events in plant
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2024) Narula, Kanika; Sinha, Arunima; Choudhary, Pooja; Ghosh, Sudip; Elagamey, Eman; Sharma, Archana; Sengupta, Atreyee; Chakraborty, Niranjan; Chakraborty, Subhra
    Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays central roles in cell architecture, innate defense andcell wall integrity (CWI) signaling. During transition to multicellularity, modulardomain structures of ECM proteins and proteoforms have evolved due to continuousadaptation across taxonomic clades under different ecological niche. Although thisincredible diversity has to some extent been investigated at protein level, extracellu-lar phosphorylation events and molecular evolution of ECM proteoform familiesremains unexplored. We developed matrisome proteoform atlas in a grain legume,chickpea and performed meta-analyses of 74 plant matrisomes. MS/MS analysisidentified 1,424 proteins and 315 phosphoproteins involved in diverse functions.Cross-species ECM protein network identified proteoforms associated with CWImaintenance system. Phylogenetic characterization of eighteen matrix protein fami-lies highlighted the role of taxon-specific paralogs and orthologs. Novel informationwas acquired on gene expansion and loss, co-divergence, sub functionalization andneofunctionalization during evolution. Modular networks of matrix protein familiesand hub proteins showed higher diversity across taxonomic clades than amongorgans. Furthermore, protein families differ in nonsynonymous to synonymous sub-stitution rates. Our study pointed towards the matrix proteoform functionality,sequence divergence variation, interactions between wall remodelers and molecularevolution using a phylogenetic framework. This is the first report on comprehensivematrisome proteoform network illustrating presence of CWI signaling proteins inland plants.
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    The chickpea WIP2 gene underlying a major QTL contributes to lateral root development
    (Oxford University Press, 2024) Dwivedi, Vikas; Pal, Lalita; Singh, Shilpi; Singh, Nagendra Pratap; Parida, Swarup K.; Chattopadhyay, Debasis
    Lateral root is a major component of root system architecture and lateral root count (LRC) positively contributes to yield under drought in chickpea. To understand the genetic regulation of LRC, a biparental mapping population derived from two chickpea accessions having contrasting LRC was genotyped by sequencing and phenotyped to map four major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to 13 to 32% of the LRC trait variation. A SNP tightly linked to the locus contributing to highest trait variation was located on the coding region of a gene (CaWIP2) orthologous to WIP2 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana. A polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) in the CaWIP2 promoter showed differentiation between low vs. high LRC parents and mapping individuals suggesting its utility for marker-assisted selection. CaWIP2 promoter showed strong activities in chickpea apical root meristem and lateral root primordia. Expression of CaWIP2 under its native promoter in Arabidopsis wip2wip4wip5 mutant rescued its root-less phenotype to produce more lateral root than the wild type plants and led to formation of amyloplasts in the columella. CaWIP2 expression also induced expression of genes that regulate lateral root emergence. Our study identified a gene-based marker for LRC which will be useful to develop drought tolerant high-yielding chickpea.
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    The R2R3-MYB gene family in Cicer arietinum: genome-wide identification and expression analysis leads to functional characterization of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis regulators in the seed coat
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2022) Rajput, Ruchika; Tyagi, Shivi; Naik, Jogindra; Pucker, Boas; Stracke, Ralf; Pandey, Ashutosh
    Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is among the eight oldest crops and has two main types, i.e., desi and kabuli, whose most obvious difference is the color of their seeds. We show that this color difference is due to differences in proanthocyanidin content of seed coats. Using a targeted approach, we performed in silico analysis, metabolite profiling, molecular, genetic, and biochemical studies to decipher the transcriptional regulatory network involved in proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in the seed coat of C. arietinum. Based on the annotated C. arietinum reference genome sequence, we identified 119 typical CaMYB encoding genes, grouped in 32 distinct clades. Two CaR2R3-MYB transcription factors, named CaPAR1 and CaPAR2, clustering with known proanthocyanidin regulators (PARs) were identified and further analyzed. The expression of CaPAR genes correlated well with the expression of the key structural proanthocyanidin biosynthesis genes CaANR and CaLAR and with proanthocyanidin levels. Protein–protein interaction studies suggest the in vivo interaction of CaPAR1 and CaPAR2 with the bHLH-type transcription factor CaTT8. Co-transfection analyses using Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts showed that the CaPAR proteins form a MBW complex with CaTT8 and CaTTG1, able to activate the promoters of CaANR and CaLAR in planta. Finally, transgenic expression of CaPARs in the proanthocyanidin-deficient A. thaliana mutant tt2-1 leads to complementation of the transparent testa phenotype. Taken together, our results reveal main components of the proanthocyanidin regulatory network in C. arietinum and suggest that CaPARs are relevant targets of genetic engineering toward improved agronomic traits.
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    Combined drought and heat stress influences the root water relation and determine the dry root rot disease development under field conditions: A study using contrasting chickpea genotypes
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2022) Chilakala, Aswin Reddy; Mali, Komal Vitthalrao; Irulappan, Vadivelmurugan; Patil, Basavanagouda S.; Pandey, Prachi; Rangappa, Krishnappa; Ramegowda, Venkategowda; Kumar, M. Nagaraj; Puli, Chandra Obul Reddy; Mohan-Raju, Basavaiah; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa
    Abiotic stressors such as drought and heat predispose chickpea plants to pathogens of key importance leading to significant crop loss under field conditions. In this study, we have investigated the influence of drought and high temperature on the incidence and severity of dry root rot disease (caused by Macrophomina phaseolina) in chickpea, under extensive on- and off-season field trials and greenhouse conditions. We explored the association between drought tolerance and dry root rot resistance in two chickpea genotypes, ICC 4958 and JG 62, with contrasting resistance to dry root rot. In addition, we extensively analyzed various patho-morphological and root architecture traits altered by combined stresses under field and greenhouse conditions in these genotypes. We further observed the role of edaphic factors in dry root rot incidence under field conditions. Altogether, our results suggest a strong negative correlation between the plant water relations and dry root rot severity in chickpeas, indicating an association between drought tolerance and dry root rot resistance. Additionally, the significant role of heat stress in altering the dynamics of dry root rot and the importance of combinatorial screening of chickpea germplasm for dry root rot resistance, drought, and heat stress have been revealed.
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    A sick plot-based protocol for dry root rot disease assessment in field-grown chickpea plants
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2021) Irulappan, Vadivelmurugan; Mali, Komal Vitthalrao; Patil, Basavanagouda S.; Manjunatha, Hanumappa; Muhammad, Saifulla; Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa
    Premise: A comprehensive field-based screening protocol is lacking for dry root rot (DRR) disease in chickpea, which is caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (formerly referred to as Rhizoctonia bataticola). Here, we describe a protocol for establishing a sick plot for DRR to enable disease assessment of a large number of chickpea plants during the natural growing season. Methods and Results: We used a chickpea plot with >30% DRR incidence, and enriched the inoculum by cultivating highly susceptible chickpea plant genotypes and incorporating infected plant material into the soil. The chickpea plants were then subjected to infection in developed sick plots with various levels of soil moisture under natural field conditions. Conclusions: Our protocol provides a robust way to impose M. phaseolina infection on chickpea plants under natural field conditions and to investigate plant responses to the infection at morphological, physiological, and molecular levels. This method can also be used to screen for other soil‐borne diseases in a variety of plants.