Title

Molecular modeling, docking and protein-protein interaction analysis of MAPK signalling cascade involved in Camalexin biosynthesis in Brassica rapa

Authors

Manu Gaur¹, Apoorv Tiwari^1,2, Ravendra P. Chauhan¹, Dinesh Pandey^1*, Anil Kumar^1*

Affiliation

¹Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India;

²Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences, Allahabad 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India;

E-mail

dineshpandeymbge@gmail.com

Article Type

Hypothesis

Date

Received March 7, 2018; Revised April 2, 2018; Accepted April 3, 2018; Published April 30, 2018

Phytoalexins are small antimicrobial molecules synthesized and accumulated by plants upon exposure to pathogens. Camalexin is an indole-derived phytoalexin, which is accumulated in plants including Arabidopsis thaliana, and other Brassicaceae, which plays a major role in disease resistance against fungal pathogens. The productivity of Brassica crops is adversely affected by Alternaria blight disease, which is caused by Alternaria brassicae. In Arabidopsis thaliana, MAP kinase signalling cascade is known to be involved in synthesis of camalexin, which contributes to disease resistance against a necrtrophic fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. In the present study, MAPK signalling cascade leading to biosynthesis of camalexin that triggers defense responses in B. rapa upon exposure to the most devastating nectrophic fungus, Alternaria brassicae has been elucidated with the help of previously reported MAPK cascade in Arabidopsis thaliana, Molecular modelling, docking, and protein-protein interaction analysis of MAP kinases retrieved from Brassica rapa genome have been carried out to reveal the above cascade. The tertiary structure prediction of MAPKs obtained through molecular modelling revealed that all the protein models fulfil the criteria of being the stable structures. The molecular docking of predicted models for elucidating potential partners of MAPKs revealed strong interactions between MKK1, MKK4, MKK5, MAPK3 and MAPK6 with MKK9. The MAPK signalling cascade also shows different genes that express and play major role in camalexin biosynthesis in B. rapa during defense response to A. brassicae. The understanding of MAPK defense signaling pathway in B. rapa against devastating fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicae would help in devising strategies to develop disease resistance in Brassica crops.

Keywords:

MAPK, MKK, Camalexin, Botrytis cinerea, Brassica rapa, Alternaria brassicae.

Citation

Gaur et al. Bioinformation 14(4): 145-152 (2018)

Edited by

P Kangueane

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.