Characterization of Water-Deficit Stress-Responsive R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor Gene, ScMYB50/23 from Sugarcane

Background/Objectives: The present study aimed to characterize the role of R2R3-MYB TF gene, ScMYB50/23 from sugarcane during water-deficit stress condition. Methods: The primers specific for ScMYB50/23 were used to isolate the full length cDNA from sugarcane by PCR and characterized their predicted water-deficit stress response in sugarcane tissues (leaf, stem, ischolar_main) by quantitative RT-PCR. The isolated gene was cloned and sequenced for sequence-structure analysis using various computational tools. In order to elucidate its sequence-to-structure-to-function paradigm, comparative modeling, docking and validation were performed using I-TASSER, TFmodeller and 3D footprint platforms, respectively. Findings: The present study provides the first information of stress inducible expression characteristics of the isolated R2R3-MYB TF gene, ScMYB50/23 in sugarcane. PCR amplification showed that the isolated gene was 1080 bp long, which encodes a polypeptide of 359 amino acids with theoretical molecular weight and pI of 39.2 KDa and 9.56, respectively. Comparative modeling and docking of ScMYB50/23 with MYBCORE cis-motif was generated and evaluated by structure quality assessment parameters. Analysis of increased expression pattern of ScMYB50/23 in sugarcane leaf tissue indicates an important role of this gene in water-deficit stress in sugarcane. Application/Improvements: The overall results have demonstrated the explicit role of ScMYB50/23 in conferring water-deficit stress response in sugarcane and have potential to enhance the stress tolerance and crop improvement in plants.