Isolation and bioinformatics study of TbJAMYC transcription factor involved in biosynthesis of Taxol from Iranian yew

An anti-cancer drug called Taxol, or paclitaxel is one of the secondary metabolites of yewtree (Taxus bacatta). Taxol is one of the most important and most useful anticancer drugs in the treatment of lung cancer. Taxol prevents the depolymerization of microtubules and inhibits cell division in tumor tissues. JAMYC is a transcription factor from MYC family with a DNAbinding motif called bHLH. The gene involved in Taxol biosynthesis has been identified in other yew species. The aim of this study was isolation and cloning of TbJAMYC gene and bioinformatics analysis of its structure. Initially to obtain yew seedling, embryos were removed from seeds of the species and cultured on MS medium containing activated charcoal and ascorbic acid. Total RNA was extracted from the seedlings and cDNA was synthesized from extracted RNA. The gene of TbJAMYC was amplified by PCR from cDNA. Amplified fragment cloned in pTG 19 vector using TA cloning method and sequenced. Bioinformatics analysis was carried out by MODELLER and Pfam softwares. The cloning was confirmed by endonuclease digestion and sequencing. TbJAMYC bioinformatics analysis was carried out by Pfam and MODELLER softwares that revealed three-dimensional structure of the DNA binding domain. These analyzes showed that TbJAMYC protein is a member of MYC transcription factors family that binds to DNA and regulates gene expression by bHLH domain. TbJAMYC transcription factor involved in the biosynthesis of valuable anticancer Taxol drug. Hence Taxol biosynthesis pathway manipulation via genetic engineering can be a new way to increase production of the metabolite in yew plant.