Transcriptome analyses revealed the ultraviolet B irradiation and phytohormone gibberellins coordinately promoted the accumulation of artemisinin in Artemisia annua L.

Abstract

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy has become the preferred approach for treating malaria and has successfully reduced malaria-related mortality. Currently, the main source of artemisinin is Artemisia annua L., and thus, it is of strategic importance to enhance artemisinin contents in A. annua plants. Phytohormones and illumination are known to be important external environmental factor that can have notable effects on the production of secondary metabolite. The activities of different hormones can be influenced to varying degrees by light, and thus light and hormones may jointly regulate various processes in plants. Here, we performed transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed that ultraviolet B irradiation and phytohormone gibberellins coordinately promoted the accumulation of artemisinin in Artemisia annua. Methods: Artemisinin analysis was performed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS). RNA sequencing, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were applied to analyzing the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under ultraviolet B irradiation and gibberellins treatments. Weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) analyzed the genes in artemisinin-related modules and identified candidate hub genes in these modules. Results: In this study, we found that cross-talk between UV-B and GA induced processes leading to modifications in artemisinin accumulation. A total of 14,762 genes differentially expressed (DEGs) among different treatments were identified by transcriptome analysis. UV-B and GA treatments enhanced the accumulation of artemisinin by up-regulating the expression of the key artemisinin biosynthesis genes ADS and CYP71AV1. According to the high degree value and high expression level, a total of 84 co-expressed transcription factors were identified. Among them, MYB and NAC TFs mainly involved in regulating the biosynthesis of artemisinin. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed that GA + UV in blue modules was positively correlated with artemisinin synthesis, suggesting that

Enhancing artemisinin content in and delivery from Artemisia annua: a review of alternative, classical, and transgenic approaches

“…GAs also have a positive regulatory effect on artemisinin content and yield. Metabolome and transcriptome analysis by Ma et al (2020) revealed that GA and UV-B irradiation coordinately promoted artemisinin accumulation in A. annua by up-regulating key biosynthetic genes like ADS and CYP71AV1. Co-overexpression analysis suggested that certain selected NAC and MYB transcription factors regulated the expression of these genes to enhance artemisinin production.…”

Response of Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo to degradation of alpine grasslands in the western Sichuan plateau, China

“…And DAVIDJ.BURRITT and SUSAN MACKENZIE's study on a shade-loving plant named Begonia×erythrophylla also showed the same result, that the content of ChlA and ChlB decreased in plant leaves when the plant was placed under conditions of full light [40]. It has been found that the activities of different hormones can be in uenced to varying degrees by light [41]. The results indicate that strong illumination is a major stress disorder faced by L. rotata in the F. rubra+L.…”

Transcriptome Responses of Wild Arachis to UV-C Exposure Reveal Genes Involved in General Plant Defense and Priming

“…Our data also agree with previous transcriptome studies showing that a large number of plant genes were differentially regulated by UV-C radiation, as for P. cuspidatum in which nearly 25% of the expressed genes were affected [ 35 ]. Moreover, the number of genes identified in different plants as DEGs upon UV exposure was notably higher compared to those modulated by other stimuli, such as gibberellins treatment [ 74 ], heavy metals and ionizing radiation [ 75 ], low temperature [ 68 ], and jasmonate and salicylate treatments and herbivore infestation [ 76 ].…”