Isolation and characterization of culturable endophytic actinobacteria associated with Artemisia annua L.

Endophytic actinobacteria isolated from Artemisia annua were characterized and evaluated for their bioactivities. A total of 228 isolates representing at least 19 different genera of actinobacteria were obtained and several of them seemed to be novel taxa. An evaluation of antimicrobial activity showed that more isolates possessed activity towards plant pathogens than activity against other pathogenic bacteria or yeasts. High frequencies of PCR amplification were obtained for type I polyketide synthases (PKS-I, 21.1%), type II polyketide synthases (PKS-II, 45.2%) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS, 32.5%). The results of herbicidal activity screening indicated that 19 out of 117 samples of fermentation broths completely inhibited the germination of Echinochloa crusgalli. This study indicated that endophytic actinobacteria associated with A. annua are abundant and have potentially beneficial and diverse bioactivities which should be pursued for their biotechnical promise.     

Optimization of cryopreservation of Artemisia annua L. callus

Cryopreservation of callus tissue of Artimisia annua L. was optimized. Two lines of calli were precultured on MS medium with 5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide, and protected by a cryoprotectant containing 15% (v/v) ethylene glycol, 15% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide, 30% (v/v) glycerol and 13.6% (w/v) sucrose. The highest survival rate of callus A201 reached 87% after it was pretreated at 25°C, cryopreserved by liquid nitrogen, recovered in water bath at 25°C and reloaded at 25°C with 34% (w/v) sucrose solution, and that of callus A202 reached 78% after it was treated as callus A201, except pretreated at 35°C, recovered at 35°C and reloaded with 47.8% (w/v) sucrose solution.     

栽培青蒿中总黄酮提取工艺

利用超声波辅助技术,获得最大限度提取青蒿中总黄酮的新工艺。用正交设计理论,结合分光光度法,优化超声波辅助醇提法提取青蒿总黄酮工艺中的关键技术参数。最佳提取．工艺为：超声波频率59kHz,乙醇体积分数60％,提取时间40min,料液比1：40。超声波辅助提取法能够实现青篙中总黄酮的高效提取,产率达1．497％。     

Artemisia annua L.: dedifferentiated and differentiated cultures

Dedifferentiated and differentiated tissue cultures ofArtemisia annua L. for artemisinin production were carried out. The calluses were initiated on MS medium supplemented with sucrose (30 g l^-1), myoinositol (100 mg l^-1) and RT vitamins. The auxins used were naphtaleneacetic acid (NAA), indoleacetic acid (IAA), indolebutyric acid (IBA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d). These were added to the basal medium either singly or in combination. The best results were obtained with 2.4-d (4.5 M : 0.02 d^-1) and NAA (5.4 M : 0.06 d^-1). Cell suspensions were established on the same media without agar. Suspension cultures showed different morphological characteristics according to the plant growth regulator supplied. Organized cultures were initiated from callus obtained on 2,4-d (4.5 M) and from bud cultures. Medium containing 6-benzylaminepurine (BA) (8.9 M)+NAA (0.54 M); Zeatin (45.62 M)+NAA (5.37 M) or BA (8.9 M) stimulated both organogenesis in callus (frequency of induction =50%) and semi-organized tissue in shoot buds. BA (13.32 M)+NAA (1.08 M) or BA (13.32 M) only stimulated multiple shoot cultures (frequency of induction =80%). Regarding artemisinin content, while the values obtained were 1.13 and 0.78 mg gDW^-1 in primary callus, artemisinin was not detected in cell suspension and only traces of it were found in multiple shoot cultures.     

Metabolic engineering of artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua L., is an effective antimalarial agent, especially for multi-drug resistant and cerebral malaria. To date, A. annua is still the only commercial source of artemisinin. The low concentration of artemisinin in A. annua, ranging from 0.01 to 0.8% of the plant dry weight, makes artemisinin relatively expensive and difficult to meet the demand of over 100 million courses of artemisinin-based combinational therapies per year. Since the chemical synthesis of artemisinin is not commercially feasible at present, another promising approach to reduce the price of artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs is metabolic engineering of the plant to obtain a higher content of artemisinin in transgenic plants. In the past decade, we have established an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system of A. annua, and have successfully transferred a number of genes related to artemisinin biosynthesis into the plant. The various aspects of these efforts are discussed in this review.     

Factors influencing Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Artemisia annua L.

Following our previously described Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation procedure for Artemisia annua L., we have undertaken several additional experiments to establish the importance of some parameters such as explant type, age of explant source, A. tumefaciens strain and type of binary vector. Several binary vectors were useful for the production of transgenic callus on explants of different ages. In transformed calli, a good correlation between integration and expression of foreign DNA was observed: different assays showed expression of β-Glucuronidase, neomycin phosphotransferase II, superoxide dismutase and bleomycin acetyl transferase. The regeneration of transgenic plants required more restricted conditions. Only with the pTJK136 vector could transgenic plants be obtained from leaf and stem explants from 12- to 18-week-old plants. Co-cultivation for 48 h seemed favorable for the regeneration of transgenic plants. Stable integration and expression of the transgenes was also shown in the progeny. Received: 18 August 1997 / Revision received: 3 December 1997 / Accepted: 3 July 1998     

反相高效液相色谱法测定青蒿中青蒿酸的含量

本文建立了反相高效液相色谱快速测定青蒿中青蒿酸含量的方法。色谱条件为:Diamonsil C18色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm),柱温为(30±1)℃,流动相采用乙腈与0.2%磷酸水溶液混合液(体积比65:35),流速1 mL/min,检测波长220 nm。标准曲线回归方程:Y=8.784573×10-8X-6.443559×10-5,r=0.9997,青蒿酸回收率为102.4%。实验证明该方法稳定可靠、精密度高、重现性好、简单可行,适用于青蒿酸的分析检测。     

青蒿组织培养及其快速繁殖研究

以青蒿幼叶、叶柄为外植体,研究其离体培养和试管苗再生途径。结果表明,以青蒿嫩叶为外植体,在MS+6-BA0.5mg/L+IBA0.5mg/L的培养基中可诱导出愈伤组织,诱导率达87%,并在此培养基中可以分化出芽,分化率为85%,将分化苗转移到MS+IBA0.5mg/L的培养基上,生根率高达93%。     

Transgenic approach to increase artemisinin content in Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin, the endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone, is an effective antimalarial drug isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua L. Due to its effectiveness against multi-drug-resistant cerebral malaria, it becomes the essential components of the artemisinin-based combination therapies which are recommended by the World Health Organization as the preferred choice for malaria tropica treatments. To date, plant A. annua is still the main commercial source of artemisinin. Although semi-synthesis of artemisinin via artemisinic acid in yeast is feasible at present, another promising approach to reduce the price of artemisinin is using plant metabolic engineering to obtain a higher content of artemisinin in transgenic plants. In the past years, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system of A. annua has been established by which a number of genes related to artemisinin biosynthesis have been successfully transferred into A. annua plants. In this review, the progress on increasing artemisinin content in A. annua by transgenic approach and its future prospect are summarized and discussed.     

黄花蒿组培快繁与种质离体保存的研究

以带侧芽的黄花蒿(Artemisia annua L.)茎段为外植体,以MS为基本培养基,进行组织培养和种质保存研究.结果表明,培养基MS 6-BA 1.0 mg L-1 IBA 0.1 mg L-1、MS 6-BA 0.5 mg L-1 IBA 0.1 mg L-1和MS NAA0.1 nag L-1 IBA 0.5 rng L-1可分别用于黄花蒿的芽诱导、增殖和生根培养,培养20 d的增殖倍数为5.5倍,生根率98.3%.培养基MS CCC 1.0 mg L-1、MS CCC 2.0 nag L-1、MS PP3334.0 mg L-1可用作离体保存,连续保存200 d的存活率分别达72.3%、77.0%、69.2%.活力检测表明,黄花蒿种质经保存后的增殖、生根能力没有下降.因此,可通过诱导腋芽增殖建立黄花蒿快繁体系,及在培养基中添加CCC或PP333拼能使材料长期保存.     

Factors influencing artemisinin production from shoot cultures of Artemisia annua L.

Artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug isolated from the annual wormwood Artemisia annua L., has a marked activity against chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum, and is useful in treatment of cerebral malaria. Shoot cultures of Artemisia annua L. were established on Murashige and Skoog basal medium which contained (per litre) 30 g sucrose, 0.5 mg 6-benzyladenine and 0.05 mg naphthaleneacetic acid. Using an optimized combination of sucrose (30 g/l), nitrate (45 mM), inorganic phosphate (200 mg/l), gibberellic acid (7 mg/l) and the ratio of NH₄ ⁺-N to NO₃ ^–-N of 1:3, artemisinin production reached 26.7 mg/l after 30 days. This procedure provides a potential alternative for production of artemisinin from in vitro tissue cultures.     

Responses of Artemisia annua L. to lead and salt-induced oxidative stress

The Artemisia annua L. plants were subjected separately to NaCl (0–160 mM) and lead acetate (0–500 μM) at the age of 90 days (S1 treatment) and 120 days (S2 treatment). The treated plants were studied on 100, 130 and 160 days after sowing (DAS) in S1, and on 130 and 160 DAS in S2 treatments for lipid peroxidation rate, photosynthetic rate (Pn), chlorophyll content, artemisinin concentration and artemisinin yield in leaf samples and for total biomass accumulation. The treatments enhanced lipid peroxidation at all stages of plant growth and increased the concentration and yield of artemisinin at 100 and 130 DAS in S1 and S2, respectively, while other parameters declined at all growth stages. The magnitude of changes was greater in lead-treated than in salt-treated plants. Both treatments induced oxidative stress which might have damaged the photosynthetic apparatus resulting in a loss of chlorophyll content and a decline in photosynthetic rate, biomass accumulation and artemisinin production. The increase in artemisinin content, observed during the early phase of plant growth, might be due to a sudden conversion of its precursors (e.g. artemisinic acid/dihydroartemisinic acid) to artemisinin by activated oxygen species under oxidative stress.     

Artemisinin production by shoot regeneration of Artemisia annua L. using thidiazuron

An efficient in vitro method for multiple shoot bud induction and regeneration has been developed in Artemisia annua L. using leaf and stem explants in various concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators to evaluate the frequency of regeneration. The sources of explants as well as plant growth regulators in the medium were found to influence the multiple shoot induction. The result shows that the stem segment cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ) gave a perfect shoot formation (100%) and good shoot multiplication (57 shoots/explant) after 2 weeks of culture. Healthy regenerated shoots were elongated and rooted in MS medium without hormones. The artemisinin content in plants regenerated from stem explants using 0.1 mg/l TDZ was (3.36 +/- 0.36) microg/mg dry weight and two-fold higher than that of in vitro grown plants of the same age [(1.73 -/+ 0.23) microg/mg DW]. This system exhibited a potential for a rapid propagation of shoots from the stem explant and makes it possible to develop a clonal propagation of A. annua.     

Cloning, expression, and characterization of epi-cedrol synthase, a sesquiterpene cyclase from Artemisia annua L.

Sesquiterpene cyclases (synthases) catalyze the conversion of the isoprenoid intermediate farnesyl diphosphate to various sesquiterpene structural types. In plants, many sesquiterpenes are produced as defensive chemicals (phytoalexins) or mediators of chemical communication (i.e., pollinator attractants). A number of sesquiterpene synthases are present in Artemisia annua L. (annual wormwood). We have isolated a cDNA clone encoding one of these, epi-cedrol synthase. This clone contains a 1641-bp open reading frame coding for 547 amino acids (63.5 kDa), a 38-bp 5'-untranslated end, and a 272-bp 3'-untranslated sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence was 32 to 43% identical with the sequences of other known sesquiterpene cyclases from angiosperms. When expressed in Escherichia coli, the recombinant enzyme catalyzed the formation of both olefinic (3%) and oxygenated (97%) sesquiterpenes from farnesyl diphosphate. GC-MS analysis identified the olefins as alpha-cedrene (57% of the olefins), beta-cedrene (13%), (E)-beta-farnesene (5%), alpha-acoradiene (1%), (E)-alpha-bisabolene (8%), and three unknown olefins (16%) and the oxygenated sesquiterpenes (97% of total sesquiterpene generated, exclusive of farnesol and nerolidol) as cedrol (4%) and epi-cedrol (96%). epi-Cedrol synthase was not active with geranylgeranyl diphosphate as substrate, whereas geranyl diphosphate was converted to monoterpenes by the recombinant enzyme at a rate of about 15% of that observed with farnesyl diphosphate as substrate. The monoterpene olefin products are limonene (45%), terpinolene (42%), gamma-terpinene (8%), myrcene (5%), and alpha-terpinene (2%); a small amount of the monoterpene alcohol terpinen-4-ol is also produced. The pH optimum for the recombinant enzyme is 8.5-9.0 (with farnesyl diphosphate as substrate) and the K(m) values for farnesyl diphosphate are 0.4 and 1.3 microM at pH 7. 0 and 9.0, respectively. The K(m) for Mg(2+) is 80 microM at pH 7.0 and 9.0.     

Artemisinin content in Artemisia annua L. extracts obtained by different methods

Isolation of artemisinin from Artemisia annua L. and its quantification by the HPLC-MS method are considered. Different extraction methods were used for the isolation of artemisinin: maceration, ultrasonic and subcritical CO₂-extraction. The component content of the CO₂- and hexane extracts was studied by the GC-MS method.     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Artemisia annua L. and regeneration of transgenic plants

Summary A transformation system was developed for Artemisia annua L. plants. Leaf explants from in vitro grown plants developed callus and shoots on medium with 0.05 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid and 0.5 mg/L N⁶-benzyladenine after transformation with the C58C1 Rif^R (pGV2260) (pTJK136) Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain. A concentration of 20 mg/L kanamycin was added in order to select transformed tissue. Kanamycin resistant shoots were rooted on naphthaleneacetic acid 0.1 mg/L. Polymerase chain reactions and DNA sequencing of the amplification products revealed that 75% of the regenerants contained the foreign genes. 94% of the transgenic plants showed a -glucuronidase-positive response.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - BA N⁶-benzyladenine - GM germination medium - GMVIT germination medium with vitamins - GUS -glucuronidase - Kin kinetin (N⁶-furfurylaminopurine) - NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid - NPT II neomycin phosphotransferase II - PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction - T-DNA transfer-DNA - X-glucuronide 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl -D-glucuronide     

Structural and functional characterization of HMG-COA reductase from Artemisia annua

Plants synthesize a great variety of isoprenoid products that are required not only for normal growth and development but also for their adaptive responses to environmental challenges. However, despite the remarkable diversity in the structure and function of plant isoprenoids, they all originate from a single metabolic precursor, mevalonic acid. The synthesis of mevalonic acid is catalysed by the enzyme, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG- CoA reductase). The analysis of the amino acid sequence of HMG-CoA reductase from Artemisia annua L. plant showed that it belongs to class I HMG-CoA reductase family. The three dimensional structure of HMG-CoA reductase of Artemisia annua has been generated from amino acid sequence using homology modelling with backbone structure of human HMG-CoA reductase as template. The model was generated using the SWISS MODEL SERVER. The generated 3-D structure of HMG-CoA reductase was evaluated at various web interfaced servers to checks the stereo interfaced quality of the structure in terms of bonds, bond angles, dihedral angles and non-bonded atom-atom distances, structural as well as functional domains etc. The generated model was visualized using the RASMOL. Structural analysis of HMG-CoA reductase from Artemisia annua L. plant hypothesize that the N and C-terminals are positioned in cytosol by the two membrane spanning helices and the C-terminals domain shows similarity to the human HMG-CoA reductase enzyme indicating that they both had potential catalytic similarities.