Comprehensive in silico analysis of the underutilized crop tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) genome reveals drought tolerance signatures.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Tef (Eragrostis tef) is a C₄ plant known for its tiny, nutritious, and gluten-free grains. It contains higher levels of protein, vitamins, and essential minerals like calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) than common cereals. Tef is cultivated in diverse ecological zones under diverse climatic conditions. Studies have shown that tef has great diversity in withstanding environmental challenges such as drought. Drought is a major abiotic stress severely affecting crop productivity and becoming a bottleneck to global food security. Here, we used in silico-based functional genomic analysis to identify drought-responsive genes in tef and validated their expression using quantitative RT-PCR.

Results

We identified about 729 drought-responsive gen

SUBMITTER: Bekele-Alemu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10589971 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature