Genome-Wide Identification and In Silico Analysis of Annexins in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Annexins are a ubiquitous, evolutionarily conserved group of Ca²⁺-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins. They are a family of less numerous and more varied proteins that form a unique monophyletic group. They play an important role in various abiotic and biotic stress responses through Ca²⁺-mediated signaling. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most widely grown legume crops in the world. In recent years, intensive research has been carried out to identify and elucidate genes and molecular pathways that control stress responses in plants. The availability of the chickpea genome has hastened the functional genomics of chickpea. In the current study, we attempted Genome-wide identification and in silico analysis of Annexins in chickpea. Thirteen annexin sequences have been identified in the chickpea genome. Four conserved annexin domains were found in ten annexin members, while three annexins CaAnn5, CaAnn12, and CaAnn13, showed three, two, and one conserved domain, respectively. The gene structure analysis showed the presence of multiple exons in all thirteen annexins. Most Annexin genes are composed of 3-5 introns. Their chromosomal locations showed that out of thirteen genes, ten could be mapped on four chromosomes. Three genes were placed on the scaffold regions. The promoter sequence analysis of all thirteen annexins showed the presence of various elements related to growth and development and response to different phytohormones and abiotic stress. The gene expression data of different annexins in various tissues like leaf, shoot, root, flower bud, and young pod showed their differential expression. Analysis of expression data of roots in drought stress showed their differential expression with the different stages of plant growth. Overall, the current findings show the possible role of CaAnns in different stages of plant growth and development in normal and stressful conditions. Moreover, these findings will be helpful in the further characterization of CaAnn genes and their promoters.