Computational identification of putative genes and vital amino acids involved in biennial rhythm in mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Mango is one of the important perennial fruit crops that exhibits bienniality and results in high economic loss. The molecular mechanisms involved in the bienniality behavior of mango are yet to be fully explored. In this study, an attempt was made to identify putative genes and amino acid residues playing an important role in biennial rhythm in mango through comparative genomics approach. Here, the reported genes responsible for bienniality in Arabidopsis and apple were used to identify the corresponding orthologs in mango. The phylogenetic analysis was also carried out to understand the evolutionary relationships among the bienniality related proteins of mango, Arabidopsis and apple. Further, the amino acid residues conserved in the protein products of the candidate genes in mango were identified by both sequence and structure alignment. From both the alignments, arginine and glycine were found conserved in the candidate bienniality proteins of mango that indicates the possible involvement of these residues in the bienniality behavior. A total of twenty nine putative genes of mango related to bienniality rhythm were identified and are populated in the Mango Bienniality Gene Database (MBGDB), accessible at http://webapp.cabgrid.res.in/mangodb. The results of this study and the developed database are expected to help enable the scientists, researchers and mango growers to minimize the economical loss due to bienniality.