Deepika Lakhwani: CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NBRI), Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India.
Yogeshwar Vikarm Dhar: CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NBRI), Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR- Human Resource Development Centre, (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Postal Staff College Area, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201 002, India.
Shikha Singh: CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NBRI), Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India.
Ashutosh Pandey: National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, P.O. Box No. 10531, New Delhi 110 067, India.
Prabodh Kumar Trivedi: CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NBRI), Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR- Human Resource Development Centre, (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Postal Staff College Area, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201 002, India. Electronic address: prabodht@nbri.res.in.
Mehar Hasan Asif: CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NBRI), Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR- Human Resource Development Centre, (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Postal Staff College Area, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201 002, India. Electronic address: mh.asif@nbri.res.in.
MADS box gene family is transcription factor gene family that is involved in growth and development of eukaryotes. In plants the MADS box gene family is mainly associated with floral meristem identity and flower development, apart from being involved in nearly all the phases of plant growth. The MADS box gene family has also been shown to be involved during fruit development and ripening. In this study the MADS box gene family from Musa balbisiana was identified and the divergence of this gene family between Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata studied. A total of 97 MADS box genes were identified from the genome of Musa balbisiana. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the MbMADS box genes were categorised into type I (α and γ; the β group was not distinguishable) and type II groups (MIKC and MIKC* and MIKC was further divided into 13 subfamilies). The typeII group has the largest number of genes and also showed the most expansion which could be correlated with the whole genome duplications. There were significant differences in the MADS box genes from Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana during evolution that can be correlated with different floral phenotype and fruit ripening pattern. The divergence of the MADS RIN genes in Musa balbisiana as compared to Musa acuminata might play an important role in the slow ripening of Musa balbisiana fruits.
