Exploring Gene Expression Dynamics for Sustainable Yield Enhancement in Chickpea

Abstract

Abstract Background Chickpea, scientifically known as Cicer arietinum, is considered one of the essential crops due to its significant agricultural and economic importance. These leguminous plants are relatively large in genome size with 738 megabases. Chickpea roots play a crucial role in symbiotic relationships by forming nodules. Results 20 genotypes were selected from an association panel meant for genome wide association studies on number of nodules and other nodulation traits. Before planting the seeds, the soil was prepared by mixing fertilizers and the specific microorganisms as biofertilizers viz; VAM and Rhizobium. The biofertilizers namely VAM, NPK, Rhizobium, and their 8 combinations in randomized block design with 3 replications were used as growing medium. The treatment mixture of NPK and Rhizobium showed significant performance in all the 20 genotypes by recognizing a genotype as the best one for the trait number of nodules. The morphological and molecular data observed on the subset comprising of 20 genotypes was subjected to descriptive statistics, correlation, path analysis, agglomerative hierarchical clustering, principal component analysis, gene expression analysis and identified the combination of Rhizobiumand VAM the best treatment along with novel donor as ICC- 9085 for the trait number of nodules and to achieve chickpea sustainable productivity. Conclusions The study shows the significant positive effects of VAM, NPK, Rhizobium, and their combinations playing an important role in improving the worldwide chickpea yield and production. The combination of Rhizobium and VAM treatments has shown great promise in stimulating nodulation in chickpea plants. These discoveries provide valuable insights that can be instrumental in advancing both chickpea cultivation techniques and strategies for optimizing nitrogen fixation in agricultural systems.