Evolutionary analysis, structural characterization, and cultivar- and tissue-specific expression profiling of the...

A transcriptome-wide analysis of Curcuma longa L. identified 38 Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase (CDPK) genes containing conserved serine/threonine kinase and EF-hand domains. Phylogenetic and motif analyses classified these CloCDPKs into four distinct clades, showing close homology with functionally characterized CDPKs from Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. Three-dimensional structural modeling confirmed conservation of key catalytic motifs, with model quality validated by Ramachandran plot and QMEAN analyses. Functional annotation predicted roles in phosphorylation-related processes and secondary metabolism, while subcellular localization and acylation site predictions suggested both compartment-specific and membrane-associated functions. Comparative expression analysis of publicly available transcriptome data from the cultivar Mega and RT-qPCR data from the cultivar IISR-Prathibha, with Curcuma aromatica Salisb. as a common control, revealed cultivar- and tissue-specific expression patterns of CloCDPKs. RT-qPCR analysis in IISR-Prathibha showed differential expression: 16 genes were upregulated and 16 downregulated, with several CloCDPKs exhibiting higher expression in tuber and rhizome tissues. These results provide a comprehensive molecular resource for CloCDPKs and establish a foundation for future functional characterization and metabolic regulation studies in turmeric.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-026-05008-2.