An In-Silico Study: Interaction of BOR1-type Boron (B) Transporters with A Small Group of Functionally Unidentified Proteins Under Various Stresses in Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Abstract

Boron (B) is an important micro element for plant metabolism. There are several transporters having a role in B transport in plants. In this study, BOR1-type B transporters in potato (Solanum tuberosum) was identified and characterized through bioinformatical approaches. The five out of 10 identified BOR1 transporters (StBOR1-2,4,5, and 10) were found in the transcriptomic data. The expression heat map and co-expression networks were constructed with these identified proteins. Results showed that these identified five transporters were expressed more under Benzothiadiazole (BTH) compared to other treatments. The co-expression networks of five B transporters, constructed using 24,950 genes at 0.99 correlation coefficient with expression threshold above one fold change, showed that three B transporters were co-expressed with three functionally unknown proteins and Heparanase 1, a defense protein against pathogens. Also, StBOR1-4 and StBOR1-8 were found to crosstalk with Heparanase 1, PGSC0003DMT400010798, and PGSC0003DMT400030256 proteins. Generally, StBOR1-8 appears to be a key player regulating B and plant signal and on the defense mechanism. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, conducted for prediction of molecular functions of B transporters, resulted in three different clusters. Similarity Network analysis showed that StBOR1-10 may be involved in more different biological processes compared to the rest of the studied StBOR1 transporters. The identified three unknown proteins interacting with BOR1-type transporters can be further investigated under biotic stress. Particularly, PGSC0003DMT400025924 gen may be a component of plant immunity system. Moreover, roles of three mentioned proteins in B uptake and accumulation mechanism can be considered for future research.