Exploring known and novel heat stress responsive genes from thermotolerant plant Prosopis cineraria by genome-wide transcriptomic studies

Heat stress response is a multigenic trait which depends on complex genotype-environment interactions in plants. Prosopis cineraria is a thermotolerant plant, native to arid and semi-arid parts of India, and well known for its edible beans, medicinal value and cattle fodder. This tree grows well in all types of climatic constraints which is evidenced by the fact that new foliar growth, flowering and fruiting occur during dry and hot months when most other trees of the desert remain leafless or dormant. Thus, P. cineraria represent a repository of genes for heat stress tolerance, which are most likely to be constitutively expressed and can be utilized for the genetic improvement of important crops. This study focus on heat stress responsive genes differentially expressed at 45 degree Celsius and 55 degree Celsius in P. cineraria. It is expected that these genes will also play role in multiple abiotic stresses. Gene annotations will also help in identifying master-regulators of multiple heat stress responsive genes.