COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS AND EXPRESSION STUDY OF TREHALOSE 6-PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE (TPS) IN RICE (Oryza Sativa)

Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase is a key enzyme in trehalose biosynthesis. Trehalose has many applications in plant growth and development and in response to abiotic stresses. In this study, analysis of 11 sequences of OsTPS genes downloaded from NCBI was performed in Oryza sativa. The analysis of bioinformatics performed included co-expression network, gene expression, chromosomal map, analysis of cis element and phylogenetic relationships for the TPS gene in rice. Phylogenetic analysis showed that TPS genes were grouped into two classes. Class I and II included OsTPS1 and OsTPS2-11 genes, respectively. The gene network analysis showed that OsTPS formed the gene networks and are mostly active in nucleus and chloroplast. According to phylogeny tree, gene structure, and analysis of cis-elements, OsTPS1 gene was different from other TPS genes. Also, according to co-expressed network, OsTPS1 showed to be the central protein encoding protein trehalose-6-phosphate synthase. OsTPS1 has been suggested to play a key role in flowering initiation in rice. It has also been shown to have an important role in response to osmotic and abiotic stresses (low temperature, salinity and anoxia). Our findings can provide a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of OsTPS genes and their expression in response to various stresses.