In-silico Identification of all the Chitinase Genes in Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana): Insights into Proteins Characteristics, Gene Structure and Evolutionary Relationships

Abstract

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.), (2n=4x=36), a highly nutritious small-seeded cereal crop rich in protein, minerals (iron and calcium), and dietary fibres (11.5%-20%), serves as a staple crop in many countries in Asia and Africa. Finger millet is highly vulnerable to the blast pathogen (Magnaporthe grisea), resulting in yield losses of up to 90% and causing finger blast, neck blast, and leaf blast, with neck blast being the most aggressive. Chitinases are a group of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins induced during fungal infections that modulate the hypersensitive defence response and arrest infection. Chitinases are enzymes that break down the chitinous structure of the fungal cell wall, playing a vital defence role; weighing 20-90 kDa, and distributed among plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, and arthropods. Because of their ability to degrade chitin, they are widely used in agriculture, industry, and medicine. Since chitinase studies on finger millet are underexplored and rare. This paper primarily focuses on in silico identification of 35 chitinases (EcChi1, 2, 3…35) retrieved from finger millet; their characterisation; dissection of their gene structures; and classification based on phylogeny. These chitinases are clustered on 9 chromosomes. Overall, insights into chitinases open the door to further research to identify potential candidate genes for resistance breeding against fungal pathogens.