Amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS) of Artemisia annua catalyzes the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate into amorpha-4,11-diene, the first committed step in the biosynthesis of the antimalarial drug artemisinin. The promoters of ADS contain two reverse-oriented TTGACC W-box cis-acting elements, which are the proposed binding sites of WRKY transcription factors. A full-length cDNA (AaWRKY1) was isolated from a cDNA library of the glandular secretory trichomes (GSTs) in which artemisinin is synthesized and sequestered. AaWRKY1 encodes a 311 amino acid protein containing a single WRKY domain. AaWRKY1 and ADS genes were highly expressed in GSTs and both were strongly induced by methyl jasmonate and chitosan. Transient expression analysis of the AaWRKY1-GFP (green fluorescent protein) reporter revealed that AaWRKY1 was targeted to nuclei. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that the AaWRKY1 protein was capable of binding to the W-box cis-acting elements of the ADS promoters, and it demonstrated transactivation activity in yeast. Co-expression of the effector construct 35S::AaWRKY1 with a reporter construct ADSpro1::GUS greatly activated expression of the GUS (beta-glucuronidase) gene in stably transformed tobacco. Furthermore, transient expression experiments in agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana and A. annua leaves showed that AaWRKY1 protein transactivated the ADSpro2 promoter activity by binding to the W-box of the promoter; disruption of the W-box abolished the activation. Transient expression of AaWRKY1 cDNA in A. annua leaves clearly activated the expression of the majority of artemisinin biosynthetic genes. These results strongly suggest the involvement of the AaWRKY1 transcription factor in the regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis, and indicate that ADS is a target gene of AaWRKY1 in A. annua.

No abstract

A type III polyketide synthase cDNA and the corresponding gene (PcPKS2) were cloned from Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. Sequencing results showed that the ORF of PcPKS2 was interrupted by three introns, which was an unexpected finding because all type III PKS genes studied so far contained only one intron at a conserved site in flowering plants, except for an Antirrhinum majus chalcone synthase gene. Besides the unusual gene structure, PcPKS2 showed some interesting characteristics: (1) the CHS "gatekeepers" Phe215 and Phe265 are uniquely replaced by Leu and Cys, respectively; (2) recombinant PcPKS2 overexpressed in Escherichia coli efficiently afforded 4-coumaroyltriacetic acid lactone (CTAL) as a major product along with bis-noryangonin (BNY) and p-hydroxybenzalacetone at low pH; however, it effectively yielded p-hydroxybenzalacetone as a dominant product along with CTAL and BNY at high pH. Beside p-hydroxybenzalacetone, CTAL and BNY, a trace amount of naringenin chalcone could be detected in assays at different pH. Furthermore, 4-coumaroyl-CoA and feruloyl-CoA were the only cinnamoyl-CoA derivatives accepted as starter substrates. PcPKS2 did not accept isobutyryl-CoA, isovaleryl-CoA or acetyl-CoA as substrate. DNA gel blot analysis indicated that there are two to four PcPKS2 copies in the P. cuspidatum genome. RNA gel blot analysis revealed that PcPKS2 is highly expressed in the rhizomes and in young leaves, but not in the roots of the plant. PcPKS2 transcripts in leaves were induced by pathogen infection, but not by wounding.

Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) forms the first line of malaria treatment. However, the yield fluctuation of artemisinin has remained an unsolved problem in meeting the global demand for ACT. This problem is mainly caused by the glandular trichome (GT)-specific biosynthesis of artemisinin in all currently used Artemisia annua cultivars. Here, we report that non-GT cells of self-pollinated inbred A. annua plants can express the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway. Gene expression analysis demonstrated the transcription of six known pathway genes in GT-free leaves and calli of inbred A. annua plants. LC-qTOF-MS/MS analysis showed that these two types of GT-free materials produce artemisinin, artemisinic acid, and arteannuin B. Detailed IR-MALDESI image profiling revealed that these three metabolites and dihydroartemisinin are localized in non-GT cells of leaves of inbred A. annua plants. Moreover, we employed all the above approaches to examine artemisinin biosynthesis in the reported A. annua glandless (gl) mutant. The resulting data demonstrated that leaves of regenerated gl plantlets biosynthesize artemisinin. Collectively, these findings not only add new knowledge leading to a revision of the current dogma of artemisinin biosynthesis in A. annua but also may expedite innovation of novel metabolic engineering approaches for high and stable production of artemisinin in the future.

No abstract

Biphenyls are unique phytoalexins produced by plants belonging to Pyrinae, a subtribe of the economically important Rosaceae family. The formation of aucuparin, a well-known biphenyl, is induced by yeast extract (YE) in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia. However, the molecular mechanism underlying YE-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that the addition of YE to the cell cultures results in a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS; H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-)), followed by transcriptional activation of the biphenyl synthase 1 gene (BIS1) encoding the key enzyme of the biphenyl biosynthetic pathway and aucuparin accumulation. Pretreatment of the cell cultures with ROS scavenger dihydrolipoic acid and NADPH oxidase-specific inhibitor diphenylene iodonium abolished all of the above YE-induced biological events. However, when the cell cultures was pretreated with superoxide dismutase specific inhibitor N,N-diethyldithiocarbamic acid, although O(2) (-) continued to be generated, the H(2)O(2) accumulation, BIS1 expression and aucuparin production were blocked. Interestingly, exogenous supply of H(2)O(2) in the range of 0.05-10 mM failed to induce aucuparin accumulation. These results indicate that endogenous generation of H(2)O(2) rather than that of O(2) (-) is a key factor in YE-induced accumulation of biphenyl phytoalexins in cell cultures of S. aucuparia.

The shikonin derivatives, accumulated in the roots of Arnebia euchroma (Boraginaceae), showed antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. To explore their possible biosynthesis regulation mechanism, this paper investigated the effects of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MJ) on the biosynthesis of shikonin derivatives in callus cultures of A. euchroma. The main results include: Under MJ treatment, the growth of A. euchroma callus cultures was not inhibited, but the expression level of both the genes involved in the biosynthesis of shikonin derivatives and their precursors and the genes responsible for intracellular localization of shikonin derivatives increased significantly in the Red Strain (shikonin derivatives high-producing strain). The quantitative analysis showed that six out of the seven naphthoquinone compounds under investigation increased their contents in the MJ-treated Red Strain, and in particular, the bioactive component acetylshikonin nearly doubled its content in the MJ-treated Red Strain. In addition, it was also observed that the metabolic profiling of naphthoquinone compounds changed significantly after MJ treatment, and the MJ-treated and MJ-untreated strains clearly formed distinct clusters in the score plot of PLS-DA. Our results provide some new insights into the regulation mechanism of the biosynthesis of shikonin derivatives and a possible way to increase the production of naphthoquinone compounds in A. euchroma callus cultures in the future.

In order to further increase the shoot regeneration frequency of Artemisia annua L., the effects of silver nitrate on this process was investigated in this study. Different concentration of silver nitrate was added to the shoot induction medium, which was MS basic medium containing 1.0 mg l −1 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) and 0.05 mg l −1 α-napthaleneacetic acid (NAA). When 2 mg l −1 silver nitrate was added to the shoot induction medium, the shoot induction frequency and shoot number per explants was significantly higher than that of the control (without silver nitrate). In addition, silver nitrate at all the tested concentrations could significantly reduce callus formation of the explants. Silver nitrate had also positive influence on shoot elongation in the first 20 days. Furthermore, silver nitrate did not affect the sensitivity of A. annua shoots to Kanamycin (KM); therefore, silver nitrate could be used to improve shoot regeneration capacity and frequency in A. annua genetic transformation.