Genome-wide analysis of the calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) gene family in Sesamum indicum L., and its role in abiotic stress tolerance traits

• Published in: Plant stress (Amsterdam) Vol. 13; p. 100532
• Main Authors: Kumar, Ajay, Batra, Tamanna, Vishwakarma, Harinder, Maurya, Rasna, Ruperao, Pradeep, Yadav, Rashmi, Subramani, Rajkumar, Singh, Gyanendra Pratap, Rangan, Parimalan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Drought; Sesamum indicum; SiCAMTA; Transcription factor; Waterlogging; Sesamum indicum; Waterlogging; Drought; Transcription factor; SiCAMTA
• ISSN: 2667-064X; 2667-064X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.stress.2024.100532

•Genome-wide identification predicted five CAMTA gene family in sesame.•Identified phylogenetic relationship between SiCAMTA of sesame with Arabidopsis, rice and seven other oilseed crops.•The five SiCAMTA genes, categorized in TIG and non-TIG type CAMTA, exhibit uneven distribution across 4 chromosomes.•Identified phytohormone and stress-responsive CAREs on putative promoter regions of five SiCAMTA gene.•Predicted 1202 SiCAMTA target genes in sesame genome which includes abiotic stress responsive genes viz. LEA, PIP1–2, PPO1, SAP, ARF17 and GAO3 × 1.•Identified five CAMTA genes and 10 CAMTA target genes were validated using qPCR analysis.•Studied evolutionary relationship of SiCAMTAs with two dicot (Arabidopsis, B. rapa) and one monocot (O. sativa) species through comparative synteny analysis.•The SiCAMTA gene family expand via segmental duplication event after the divergence of dicot and monocot.•The expression profiles of SiCAMTA and target genes suggest their important role in drought and waterlogging stress tolerance. Calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) is one of the key transcription factor families possessing calcium receptors (calmodulins, CaM). It modulates the expression levels of genes associated with ontogeny and various biotic and abiotic stress factors. The CAMTA family genes were known to be involved in different abiotic stress in several crop species. However, their functional relevance in sesame remains unexplored. To understand the role of CAMTA in stress tolerance in sesame, we performed a genome-wide analysis to identify the members of the SiCAMTA gene family. We have identified and reported here the five SiCAMTA genes localized on four chromosomes within the sesame genome. In silico analysis of the putative 2-kilobase (kb) promoter regions for these five SiCAMTA genes showed that phytohormone and stress response-related cis-elements were predominated in SiCAMTA2 and SiCAMTA5. Also, we studied its modulated expression levels, with special reference to drought and waterlogging stress. It revealed that the SiCAMTA5 and SiCAMTA2 genes were the most responsive to the studied stress factors. The target prediction and network analysis suggested that SiCAMTAs could bind the CGCG cis element in the target gene promoters and predicted 1202 SiCAMTA target genes in the sesame genome, including abiotic stress-responsive genes viz. LEA, PIP1–2, PPO1, SAP, ARF17, and GA3OX1. These findings were validated using qPCR analysis for five CAMTA and 10 CAMTA target genes and establish a foundation for future functional research of SiCAMTA genes towards sesame stress tolerance.