In-silico Characterization of Defence-Related Genes for Blast Resistance on Chromosome 7 in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Noor-ul-Ain *
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Raheel Shafeeq Khan
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
V. Shasi Kiran Reddy
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Ishrat Rafiq
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Mehvish Nisar
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Heena Altaf
Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Gazala H. Khan
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, MRCFC Khudwani, SKUAST-K, J&K, India.
Farooq Ahmad Bhat
Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Faheem Jeelani Wani
Division of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
M. H. Chesti
Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
Asif B. Shikari
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-K, 193201, J&K, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, remains a major constraint to global rice production. Genetic resistance to blast is a well known phenomenon where hundreds of QTLs or genes have been reported. The in-silico characterization of the genomic region on chromosome 7 was performed in relation to blast resistance using the Rice Annotation Project Database (RAP-DB). The region harbored several genes associated with defence-related functions, including members of the fatty acid desaturase (FAD2) family, WRKY transcription factors, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and some directly related to blast resistant. These genes are known to play important roles in modulating oxidative stress, cell signaling, and pathogen defence mechanisms. Functional annotation indicated the presence of domains related to disease resistance and stress tolerance, highlighting their potential involvement in M. oryzae resistance. The study identifies promising candidate genes that can be targeted for functional validation and molecular breeding aimed at developing blast-resistant rice varieties.
Keywords: Rice, blast resistance, GWAS, chromosome 7, in-silico analysis candidate genes