Isolation and characterization of chalcone synthesizing gene from Paenibacillus sp. NIOT-DSB72 of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The flavonoid chalcone possesses α, β-unsaturated carbonyl group that is linked to aromatic rings. They are specifically synthesized by plants belonging to Glycyrrhiza sp., Scutellaria sp., Angelica sp., and Humulus sp. Chalcones exhibit antibacterial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antifungal properties. Moreover, the bioactivities of chalcone pave its application in treating skin disease-cutaneous leishmaniasis and also in preventing skin pigmentation issues. The current study is focused on in silico sequencing and phylogenetic evaluation of genes responsible for chalcone synthesis in Paenibacillus sp. NIOT-DSB72. The chalcone synthesizing gene ( chs ) of Paenibacillus sp. NIOT-DSB72 was amplified and cloned. The results indicated that the chs gene is encoded with 1155 bp polynucleotides. The proteins encoded by the chs gene constitute 384 amino residues with a total molecular weight of 41509 Daltons. The phylogenetic and in silico analysis of chs gene and protein sequence of Paenibacillus sp. NIOT-DSB72 revealed the conserved nature of chs gene. This study facilitates the base research for the development of recombinant chalcone synthase of bacterial origin by genetically engineered bacteria ( E. coli JM109) for derma-pharmaceutical applications.