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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Identification and characterization of genes that regulate flowering in pigeon pea (Cajanaus cajan): An in-silico exploration

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.3175
Submitted
7 December 2023
Published
30-01-2025
Versions

Abstract

Pigeon pea is a versatile pulse crop extensively cultivated across Latin America, Asia and Africa. It serves as a rich source of protein and fibre. The life cycle of this annual crop is significantly influenced by the timing of flowering, which affects both seed production and the overall growth period. Variation in flowering time is influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors, making it a crucial adaptive trait in flowering plants. In this study, we aim to understand how the genetics of pigeon pea plants regulate their flowering time.

We employed 2 methods, HMM profile search and standalone BLAST search, to identify genes involved in flowering regulation in pigeon pea. Protein sequences of 6 known flowering regulators from Arabidopsis and related plants were retrieved from the NCBI database. The entire set of protein sequences from pigeon pea was used as the database for comparison. The top hits with more than 30 % identity and known conserved domains were considered true orthologs, resulting in the identification of 6 pigeon pea genes: CcFrigida, CcFrigida Like1, CcFrigida Like2, CcFrigida Es-sential1, CcTerminal Flowering1 and CcTerminal Flowering2. Through a thorough review, we identified floral repressive genes, such as FLC and its activators, as significant targets for promoting early flowering in plants.

Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the role of MADS-box genes in flower development, we still lack sufficient information about flowering genes and their specific impact on flowering traits in pigeon pea. This investigation will provide details about the biological basis of adaptive traits in this important pulse crop by examining flowering genes in pigeon pea.

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