Prediction of cis-regulatory elements for a detailed insight of RuvB family genes from Oryza sativa

Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) present in promoter region of a gene, regulates gene expression at transcriptional level. Expression profiling and study of predicted CREs in promoter region which are responsive to various factors, is an approach to predict the role of a gene in stress management of plants and this information can be exploited for the agricultural importance. This study focused on RuvB gene family from rice, which is one of the highly conserved gene family and is scarcely studied in plants. Role of OsRuvB genes to various stress conditions was studied with the help of microarray expression profiling and in silico prediction of CREs present in promoter region of these genes by using various databases-PlantCARE, TENOR and PlantPAN. Study of OsRuvB gene family promoters showed a wide range of CREs involved in hormonal regulation, developmental stages, metabolic processes, temperature response, abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. These CREs were further functionally validated with the real-time analysis for transcript level of these genes under various stress conditions. This study of OsRuvB family CREs gave a detailed insight into the possible functions performed by this conserved family. Further study and research in this family may help to bring us a step forward in stress management study in plants and also provide an important target gene for the agricultural crop improvement.