Abstract
Rice plants experience various biotic (such as insect and pest attack) and abiotic (such as drought, salt, heat, and cold
etc.
) stresses during the growing season, resulting in DNA damage and the subsequent losses in rice production.
DNA Replication Helicase
/
Nuclease2 (DNA2)
is known to be involved in DNA replication and repair. In animals and yeast
DNA2
are well characterized because it has the abilities of both helicase and nuclease, it plays a crucial role in DNA replication in the nucleus and mitochondrial genomes. However; they are not fully examined in plants due to less focused on plants damage repair. To fill this research gap, the current study focused on the genome-wide identification and characterization of
OsDNA2
genes, along with analyses of their transcriptional expression, duplication, and phylogeny in rice. Overall, 17
OsDNA2
members were reported to be found on eight different chromosomes (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11). Among these chromosomes (Chr), Chr4 contained a maximum of six
OsDNA2
genes. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the
OsDNA2
gene members were clustered into three different groups. Furthermore, the conserved domains, gene structures, and
cis
-regulatory elements were systematically investigated. Gene duplication analysis revealed that
OsDNA2_2
had an evolutionary relationship with
OsDNA2_14, OsDNA2_5
with
OsDNA2_6,
and
OsDNA2_1
with
OsDNA2_8.
Moreover, results showed that the conserved domain (AAA_11 superfamily) were present in the
OsDNA2
genes, which belongs to the DEAD-like helicase superfamily. In addition, to understand the post-transcriptional modification of
OsDNA2
genes, miRNAs were predicted, where 653 miRNAs were reported to target 17
OsDNA2
genes. The results indicated that at the maximum,
OsDNA2_1
and
OsDNA2_4
were targeted by 74 miRNAs each, and
OsDNA2_9
was less targeted (20 miRNAs). The three-dimensional (3D) structures of 17 OsDNA2 proteins were also predicted. Expression of
OsDNA2
members was also carried out under drought and salt stresses, and conclusively their induction indicated the possible involvement of
OsDNA2
in DNA repair under stress when compared with the control. Further studies are recommended to confirm where this study will offer valuable basic data on the functioning of
DNA2
genes in rice and other crop plants.