Identification of WRKYs using in silico tools for unraveling the modulation during abiotic stress response in Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] a super grain.

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is considered a promising cereal accounting for its compliance in the changing climatic conditions and nutritional benefits. Transcription factors constitute significant portion of coding genes in plant genome. WRKY represents a large family of transcription factors, which play or coordinate abiotic stress related responses. In our study, we targeted comprehensive study of WRKYs in tef using in silico approach and analyzed motifs, phylogeney, cis-elements, gene ontology and association networks. A total of 121 EtWRKYs were identified and annotated which elucidated formation of three major clusters comprising 68, 45 and 8 members respectively. The commonly predicted cis-element were ABRE, CAT-box, CAAT-box, TATA-box TGACG-motif, AS-1 and Unnamed (CGTGG and CTCC) motifs, most of which are known for their response in abiotic stress like drought, heat, cold, salinity, light, and hormone responsive elements. The association network depicted the putative protein–protein interaction of WRKY interologs between E. tef and Arabidopsis thaliana. GO blast analysis revealed the sequence specific nucleic acid binding and function in a predicted sub-cellular localization. These results provide useful information for elucidation of further exploring the functional and structural working of EtWRKY genes in variety of process for tef plant metabolism. The study is likely to bear valuable information which could be utilized for better insight into abiotic stress tolerance mechanism in tef. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]