IN-SILICO ANALYSIS OF HEAVY METALS STRESS-RESPONSIVE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN PLANTS - A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

In recent times, heavy metal contamination of the environment has become one of the major concerns. Various sources like industrial wastes, un-checked fertilizer application and other man-made causes have accelerated the spread of heavy metals in the environment. These are responsible for the disruption of plant homeostasis, altered gene expression and stunted growth in plants. Several genes and associated transcription factors have been found to play a key regulatory role in the uptake and detoxification of these heavy metal from commercially important crop plants. Transcription factors like WRKY, MYB, bHLH, bZIP have been reported to be of potential significance. With the advance of bioinformatics techniques, several in-silico tools like homology docking, molecular docking are being used for the elucidation of the roles of these transcription factors. The present review emphasizes on the different techniques used for TF identification and its function elucidation. In-silico tools form the foundation of cutting edge computational techniques which can facilitate in the development of stress resilient plants.