Expression Analysis Of Candidate Calcium Binding Protein Under Abiotic Stress On Banana

Abstract

Banana (Musa spp.), is a vital tropical fruit crop known for its nutritional value but often faces newlinechallenges from environmental stresses such as cold and drought, impacting plant productivity. newlineCalcium (Ca2+), a universal second messenger, plays a crucial role in plant responses to various newlinestresses. A study was conducted to investigate the defensive role of calcium supplementation newlineon banana plants exposed to drought (200 mM Mannitol) and cold (14 oC) stress. Exogenous newlineCa2+ treatment significantly increased the proline content, secondary metabolites, activated key newlineantioxidant enzymes, and upregulated stress-responsive calcium binding proteins, reduced newlinelipid peroxidation, enhancing membrane integrity. newlineGenome-wide identification of calcium-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) genes in banana newlinerevealed 34 CIPK genes, providing crucial information on this gene family. The study showed newlinestructural diversity with distinct intron-rich and intron-poor clades, indicating evolutionary newlineconservation in intron-less members, and predicted Subcellular localization in cytoplasm and newlinenuclease. Chromosomal distribution patterns suggested expansion through segmental newlineduplications, and phylogen newline