In silico characterization of somatic embryogenesis receptor like kinase (SERK) gene in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) and other crops

¹ Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute-Bogor Unit, Bogor City, West Java, Indonesia
² Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, Jember, East Java, Indonesia
³ Indonesian Research Institute for Estate Crops, Bogor City, West Java, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: arimarsetiowati@gmail.com

Abstract

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the primary source of vegetable oil cultivation globally, and it is considered to be the most profitable oil commodity per hectare. E. guineensis Jacq. micropropagation technique can be achieved through the somatic embryogenesis process, allowing the efficient and true-to-type propagation of plants. The somatic embryogenesis (SE) mechanism describes the interaction of endogenous signals and gene reprogramming, generating signaling that develops embryo pathways. Somatic embryogenesis receptor-like kinases (SERKs) are leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases expressed in numerous plant signaling pathways. The SERK gene contributes an essential part in the development of embryos from single somatic cells. The characterization of SERK genes in E. guineensis Jacq. is still limited and under-explored. The objective of this research is to examine the characteristics of SERK gene by comparing the differences and similarities of SERK gene in E. guineensis Jacq. to other crops as well as their evolutionary relationship. The method was initiated by identifying nucleotide sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. Furthermore, it consists of the analysis of nucleotide alignment, alignment of amino acid sequences, protein analysis, protein motif function discovery and analysis of phylogenetic tree. The phylogenetic tree shows E. guineensis Jacq. has a very close relationship with Dendrobium officinale based on the SERK protein and protein motifs. These insights have implications for unraveling the long-term embryo differentiation processes of E. guineensis Jacq. and other crops during propagation by somatic embryogenesis.