Genome-Scale Identification, in Silico Characterization and Interaction Study Between Wheat SNARE and NPSN Gene Families Involved in Vesicular Transport

Wheat is an important cereal crop grown worldwide but it's yield is severely affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses. SNAREs are key regulators of vesicle trafficking and are present in abundance in higher plant species suggesting their prominence in growth and development. Novel Plant SNAREs (NPSN) are found exclusively in plants. Hence, a comprehensive analysis of these two gene families in wheat genome was accomplished in this study. We report here 27 SNAREs and eight NPSN genes. These genes and their respective proteins were investigated for gene structure, physiochemical properties, domain and motif architecture, phylogeny, chromosomal localization and possible interactions. Phylogenetic and motif analysis confirmed SNARE domain in all the proteins. Functional annotation revealed participation in biological process like vesicle fusion, exocytosis, protein targeting to vacuole and SNAP receptor activity. At subcellular level, SNAREs were localized in multiple organelles whereas NPSN proteins were localized in cytoplasm where they regulate vesicle fusion. The 3-D structures built with Modeller proved the presence of SNARE motifs in the identified proteins. Possible protein-protein interactions between SNARE and NPSN proteins were determined and docking was performed. The results augmented our understanding about molecular function, evolutionary relation, location inside the cell and their interactions.