EST-SSR–Based Genetic Diversity and In- Silico Functional Characterization of Key Regulatory Proteins in Mulberry (Morus spp.)

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is cultivated solely for its foliage, which serves as the only feed for the silkworm Bombyx mori L., making leaf yield and exceptional critical trends for sustainable sericulture. The present observe aimed to evaluate genetic variability among mulberry accessions by means of integrating leaf anatomical, biochemical, molecular, and in-silico practical analyses. Thirteen leaf anatomical developments and seven biochemical parameters have been evaluated throughout 21 mulberry accessions, and the information were analysed the usage of correlation evaluation, essential component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering. Substantial intergenotypic variant turned into observed for all traits, mainly leaf thickness, palisade tissue employer, stomatal frequency, and chlorophyll content, which are immediately related to photosynthetic performance and leaf productiveness. Based on blended anatomical and biochemical performance, accessions V1 and TR10 emerged as advanced underneath irrigated conditions. Genetic variety turned into similarly tested the usage of four EST-SSR markers across selected superior accessions, which generated clear and reproducible polymorphic profiles and effectively discriminated amongst genotypes. Clustering based on EST-SSR statistics found out distinct genetic groupings, confirming the presence of substantial molecular variety. Proteins encoded by EST-SSR–associated genes have been subjected to in-silico secondary and tertiary structure prediction and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network evaluation. Structural modelling indicated stable conformations with conserved α-helical and β-sheet preparations, whilst PPI analysis discovered dense interplay networks related to mobile cycle law, nitrogen metabolism, signal transduction, and publish-transcriptional gene law. In general, the combination of phenotypic tendencies, molecular markers, and in-silico practical analyses offers a complete framework for figuring out elite mulberry genotypes and supports the application of marker-assisted selection for enhancing leaf yield and nice in mulberry breeding programs.