Richard I. Encarnation | Vermando M. Aquino
The abaca plant (Musa textilis Neé) is a fiber crop indigenous to the Philippines and is a close relative of bananas. Diseases due to viral pathogens such as the abaca bunchy top virus (ABTV), banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV), and sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) can be detrimental to the quality and yield of fiber produced. Though of great economic importance to the country, there has been only a few published works that delve into the molecular genetic mechanisms that underlie processes such as fiber production and disease resistance. This study is focused on the WRKY genes, which are a family of transcription factors ubiquitous to green plants that are identified by the conserved WRKYGQK motif and a C2H2 or C2HC zinc-finger binding motif. These transcription factors have been implicated in a variety of biological functions dealing with plant development and stress responses, among oth-ers. Total DNA was extracted from M. textilis var ‘Abuab’ and used as a template to amplify WRKY genes with PCR using degenerate primers targeting the WRKY motif. Amplified fragments of 250 bp, 300 bp, 800 bp, and 1000 bp were purified, cloned, and sent for sequencing. Comparison of the DNA and predicted translated protein sequences obtained to online databases with BLAST revealed 27 sequences contained WRKYGQK and partial C2HX domains that were closely related to predicted Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana WRKY transcripts. Mapping and phyloge-netic analysis revealed that the sequences clustered with either Group II or Group III WRKY domain types. This is the first reported study on sequence identification of WRKY transcription factors in abaca and is the first step to identi-fy genes for targeted genetic engineering for increased disease and stress tolerance in abaca.
ISSN 2719-1990 (Print)
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