Identification of aquaporin markers in Solanum melongena for water stress response

Abstract

Aim: The study focused on identifying markers linked to aquaporin genes from the expressed regions of S. melongena using bioinformatics applications. Methodology: The EST collections were explored for identification of aquaporin markers for water stress response using comparative analysis and in-house developed repeat motif detection program. An algorithm was developed to generate repeat motifs which can be effectively used for collecting EST of S. melongena to filter the sequences having repeat motifs for further analysis. Results: From the results generated, the 22 potential sequences with the markers were found to be associated with aquaporin proteins. The detected repeat motifs are inherent part of markers and these markers are found to be evolutionarily conserved and associated with aquaporin proteins. Hence, identifying markers for the presence of aquaporin proteins play an important role in water diffusion across cell membranes in plants. Interpretation: Identifying aquaporin markers are useful for plant breeders for developing water stress tolerant crops during elevated temperatures. These markers are linked to water channel proteins that belong to superfamily Major Intrinsic Protein, that primarily plays an important role in conduction of water in plants.