Molecular cloning and In-silico characterization of NAC86 of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) Kumar Ramesh1, Kumar Chavlesh2, Jain Rishu, Maurya Avantika, Kumar Ashok, Kumari Abha1, Singh Rakesh* ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi - 110012 1Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, 201313, Uttar Pradesh 2Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi110012 *Corresponding author: rakesh.singh2@icar.gov.in
Online Published on 02 May, 2022. Abstract The Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) is one of the medicinal plants that belong to the family Acanthaceae and is widely cultivated in India for several medicinal uses. The NAC transcription factors are protein molecules that regulate the expression of targeted genes involved in controlling several biological mechanisms in plants like growth and development, and biotic/abiotic stresses. Therefore, NAC transcription factors are one of emerging tools for crop improvement. The present study involves identifying and isolating the ApNAC86 gene and it's In-silico analysis viz., tertiary structure prediction and its validation, binding prediction with DNA molecule, and phylogenetic analysis. The isolated ApNAC86 has a molecular weight of 27.95 kD and a theoretical isoelectric point (pI) is 6.76. The protein structure prediction and their validation through the Ramachandran plot indicated 87.27% of residues in the most favoured region that indicated its good quality. Further, phylogenetic analysis revealed ApNAC86 is closely related to NAC86 from Phtheirospermum japonicum. Thus, the identified gene, ApNAC86, could serve as an important genomic resource for Kalmegh improvement programme. Top Keywords Andrographis paniculata, Kalmegh, Transcription factor, Ramachandran plot, ApNAC86, Phylogenetic analysis. Top |