Abstract:
Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) belong to a class of Zinc Finger Proteins
containing the A20/AN1 domain which are regulators of plant stress responses. SAP
genes have already been identified in many plant species but limited information is
available in potato. Potato is one of the important crops and its growth is highly affected
by abiotic stress factors including drought and salinity. In this study genome-wide
analysis was done for characterization of SAP gene family in potato. This investigation
indicated 17 (SAP) genes involved in the regulation of abiotic stress have been present
in the genome of Solanum tubersosum. These StSAP genes show the prevalence of A20,
AN1, and C2H2 protein domains belonging to Zinc Finger proteins in their protein
sequences. Five groups of StSAP proteins were classified along with their sequence
homology with Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycpersicum through a phylogenetic
relationship. The genomic distribution of 17 StSAP genes depicting chromosomal
localization along their exon and intron patterns has been determined through structural
analysis of SAP genes. The majority of genes belonging to StSAP were intron less
reflecting consistent domain patterns of A20 and AN1 collectively, except StSAP5.
Single AN1 domains, AN1-AN1 domains, and AN1-AN1-C2H2 domains containing
StSAP proteins have intronic genes. Five gene duplications were reported in the potato
genome for StSAP genes, whereas several syntenic regions were visualized between
potato, arabidopsis, and tomato genomes. Gene ontology for StSAP proteins predicted
their molecular function in Zinc ion binding and DNA binding Putative cis-acting
elements depicted through promoter analysis further identified the StSAP gene's
involvement in regulating many abiotic stresses. Thus, bioinformatics analysis of SAP
genes in the potato has comprehended their role under abiotic stress conditions
