| Abstract Detail
Secondary Metabolism Wang, Wei [1], Qi, Yan [2], Yu, Puiman [2], Guo, Dianjing [2]. Towards Understanding Artemisinin Metabolism in Artemisia annua L. Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide isolated from Artemisia annua L. (a Chinese herb named “Qinghao”), has recently become one of the most promising drugs for the treatment of malaria disease. Due to structural complexity, the chemical synthesis of artemisinin has been proven to be rather inefficient and expensive. The production of artemisinin still relies on the extraction from cultivated plants, with unfortunately a very low yield (ranging form 0.01% to 0.5% on a dry-weight basis). A complete understanding of the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway and its regulation holds the key to a successful overproduction of this compound through metabolic engineering efforts. Artemisinin belongs to isoprenoid, a huge family of plant secondary products with numerous commercial and pharmacological values. Although many pathway genes including farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) gene, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS) gene, amorpha-4,11-diene C-12 oxidase (CYP71AV1) gene and annua cytochrome P450 reductase (CRP) gene have been successfully identified in recent years, the complete map of artemisinin biosynthetic pathway is not yet fully understood. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying regulatory mechanism of artemisinin metabolism. Using an integrated functional genomics and bioinformatics approach, we aim to identify novel genes and regulators involved in artemisinin biosynthesis in order to facilitate more efficient metabolic engineering of this compound. In this study, A. annua hairy roots and hydroponics systems were established and treated with various elicitors to induce active artemisinin metabolism. The changes of transcript profile and metabolite profile were monitored using cDNA-AFLP (cDNA amplified fragment length polymorphism) and LC-MS/GC-MS techniques. Selected differentially-expressed genes will then be further tested for their functional properties using a combined cell biological, biochemical, and molecular genetics approach. The results from this research will shed new light on a better understanding of artemisinin metabolism and its regulation.
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1 - The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Biology, Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong, P. R. China
2 - The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Biology
Keywords:
Artemisinin biosynthetic pathway
Isoprenoid
cDNA-AFLP
LC-MS/GC-MS
Hairy roots.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P20010
Abstract ID:198 |
