In silico genomics analysis of weed Lantana camara and its proposed application in synthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate

Poly (3-hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) are a class of microbially produced polyesters that have potential applications as conventional plastics, specifically thermoplastic elastomers The most common PHA is poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), and this polymer can accumulate up to 90% of the cellular dry weight of some bacteria. We report using Lantana camara, a weed for the production of PHB to provide a cheap and abundant source of this polymer. Maturase K gene (matK) of chloroplast is highly conserved in plant, which is involved in intron splicing. Based on a computational gene sequence analysis, we propose that the L. Camara, a common weed, can be an inexpensive and abundant source for biological production of PHB. Our simulations focus on the maturase K (matK) gene - length of 1331 base pairs (bp) - of the choloroplasts, which affects the intron splicing. Our computational approach considers a reconstructed chloroplast genome of L. Camara, the trnL-trnF intergenic spacer (IGS), and trnH-psbA IGS in the chloroplast genome. The Blastn result indicates that the Verbenaceae genus Lantana displays 86% sequence identity with that of Solanaceae genus Nicotiana. Phylogenetic tree was constructed to identify an ideal comparison of L. camara matK gene and other plant species used for the insertion of phbA, phbB, and phbC enzymes, which regulate PHB synthesis. The former can be a good candidate for bioplastic biosynthesis in plant of family Verbanaceae. Our computational results propose that the chloroplast transformation may be useful in biological production of PHB.