Comparative Analysis of Heat Shock Protein Sequences in Crop Species: Unravelling Phylogenetic Relationships Through Multiple Sequence Alignment

This research focuses on deciphering the phylogenetic relationship between staple cereals, which are crucial for the survival of humans. Our focus has been on the heat shock proteins (HSP) found in cereals, and to achieve this, we have obtained amino acid sequences in FASTA format. By utilizing bioinformatics databases and multiple sequence alignment (MSA) tools, we have compared various sequences to enhance our comprehension. Heat shock proteins (HSP) are activated in plants under heat-stress conditions. Heat stress is a significant abiotic stressor that limits crop production globally. CLUSTAL OMEGA was employed to identify the progressive alignment and phylogeny of the two sequences.The analysis of heat shock protein (HSP) sequences in the selected crop species (wheat, soybean, rice, gram, mustard, and maize) using phylogenetic methods revealed distinct evolutionary relationships. Wheat and soybean were closely clustered together, indicating a recent common ancestor, possibly due to similarities in their HSP sequences. Conversely, rice and gram, despite belonging to different genera, showed a close evolutionary connection, suggesting conserved HSP sequences that point to a shared ancestor. Mustard, while linked to rice and gram, displayed a slightly more distant common ancestor, evident in its longer branch length. Maize, with the longest branch, demonstrated significant evolutionary divergence from the other species, likely attributed to its early divergence in evolutionary history. These findings enhance our understanding of the evolutionary trajectories and the functional conservation of HSPs in these vital crop species.