Title:Dissecting the Role of Promoters of Pathogen-sensitive Genes in Plant Defense
VOLUME: 21 ISSUE: 7
Author(s):Indrani Baruah, Gajendra Mohan Baldodiya, Jagajjit Sahu* and Geetanjali Baruah*
Affiliation:Biotechnology Group, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat-785006, Assam, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, Department of Mycology & Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh, Environment Division, Assam Science Technology & Environment Council, Bigyan Bhawan, Guwahati-781005, Assam
Keywords:Pathogen-induced promoters, crop improvement, PlantCare, transcription factors, defense signaling, pathogen resistance,
synthetic promoters, circos.
Abstract:Plants inherently show resistance to pathogen attack but are susceptible to multiple bacteria,
viruses, fungi, and phytoplasmas. Diseases as a result of such infection leads to the deterioration of
crop yield. Several pathogen-sensitive gene activities, promoters of such genes, associated transcription
factors, and promoter elements responsible for crosstalk between the defense signaling pathways
are involved in plant resistance towards a pathogen. Still, only a handful of genes and their promoters
related to plant resistance have been identified to date. Such pathogen-sensitive promoters are accountable
for elevating the transcriptional activity of certain genes in response to infection. Also, a
suitable promoter is a key to devising successful crop improvement strategies as it ensures the optimum
expression of the required transgene. The study of the promoters also helps in mining more details
about the transcription factors controlling their activities and helps to unveil the involvement of
new genes in the pathogen response. Therefore, the only way out to formulate new solutions is by analyzing
the molecular aspects of these promoters in detail. In this review, we provided an overview of
the promoter motifs and cis-regulatory elements having specific roles in pathogen attack response. To
elaborate on the importance and get a vivid picture of the pathogen-sensitive promoter sequences, the
key motifs and promoter elements were analyzed with the help of PlantCare and interpreted with
available literature. This review intends to provide useful information for reconstructing the gene networks
underlying the resistance of plants against pathogens.
