Starch makes up 70% of the wheat grain, and is an important source of calories for humans, however, the overconsumption of wheat starch may contribute to nutrition-associated health problems. The challenge is to develop resistant starch including high amylose wheat varieties with health benefits. Adapting advance genomic approaches in EMS-induced mutant lines differing in amylose content, basic leucine zipper (bZIP) regulatory factors that may play role in controlling amylose biosynthesis were identified in wheat. bZIP transcription factors are key regulators of starch biosynthesis genes in rice and maize, but their role in regulating these genes in wheat is poorly understood. A genome-wide survey identified 370 wheat bZIPs, clustered in 11 groups, showing variations in amino acids composition and predicted physicochemical properties. Three approaches namely, whole transcriptome sequencing, qRT-PCR, and correlation analysis in contrasting high and low amylose mutants and their parent line identified 24 candidate bZIP (positive and negative regulators), suggesting bZIPs role in high amylose biosynthesis. bZIPs positive role in high amylose biosynthesis is not known. In silico interactome studies of candidate wheat bZIP homologs in Arabidopsis and rice identified their putative functional role. The identified bZIPs are involved in stress-related pathways, flower and seed development, and starch biosynthesis. An in-depth analysis of molecular mechanism of novel candidate bZIPs may help in raising and improving high amylose wheat varieties.

The phytopathogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas syringae pv. lapsa (P. syringae pv. lapsa) infects the staple food crop wheat. Metalloproteins play important roles in plant-pathogen interactions. Hence, the present work is aimed to predict and analyze the iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) binding proteins of P. syringae pv. lapsa which help in its growth, adaptation, survival and pathogenicity. A total of 232 Fe, 307 Zn, and 38 Cu-binding proteins have been identified. The functional annotation, subcellular localization and gene ontology enriched network analysis revealed their role in wide range of biological activities of the phytopathogen. Among the identified metalloproteins, a total of 29 Fe-binding, 31 Zn-binding, and 5 Cu-binding proteins were found to be secreted in nature. These putative secreted metalloproteins may perform diverse cellular and biological functions ranging from transport, response to oxidative stress, proteolysis, antimicrobial resistance, metabolic processes, protein folding and DNA repair. The observations obtained here may provide initial information required to draft new schemes to control microbial infections of staple food crops and will further help in developing sustainable agriculture.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food crop that is grown and consumed worldwide. The growth and productivity of this crop are severely affected by various abiotic stresses. Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors (TFs) in plants are well known for their function during growth and development. However, systematic and in-depth identification and functional characterization of the bZIP gene family of potato is lacking. In the current study, we identified a total of 90 bZIPs (StbZIP) distributed on 12 linkage groups of potato. Based on the previous functional annotation and classification of bZIPs in Arabidopsis, wheat, and rice, a phylogenetic tree of potato bZIPs was constructed and genes were categorized into various functional groups (A to I, S, and U) as previously annotated in Arabidopsis thaliana. Analyses of the transcript sequence (RNA-seq) data led to identifying a total of 18 candidate StbZIPs [four in roots, eight in the tuber, six in mesocarp and endocarp] that were expressed in a tissue-specific manner. Differential expression analysis under the various abiotic conditions (salt, mannitol, water, and heat stress) and treatment with phytohormones (ABA, GA, IAA, and BAP) led to the identification of forty-two [thirteen under salt stress, two under mannitol stress, ten under water stress, and eighteen under heat stress], and eleven [eight and three StbZIPs upon treatment with ABA, and IAA, respectively] candidate StbZIPs, respectively. Using sequence information of candidate StbZIPs, a total of 22 SSR markers were also identified in this study. In conclusion, the genome-wide identification analysis coupled with RNA-Seq expression data led to identifying candidate StbZIPs, which are dysregulated, and may play a pivotal role under various abiotic stress conditions. This study will pave the way for future functional studies using forward and reverse genetics to improve abiotic stress tolerance in potato.