Relative expression of genes of terpene metabolism in different tissues of Artemisia annua L.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recently, Artemisia annua L. (annual or sweet wormwood) has received increasing attention due to the fact that the plant produces the sesquiterpenoid endoperoxide artemisinin, which today is widely used for treatment of malaria. The plant produces relatively small amounts of artemisinin and a worldwide shortage of the drug has led to intense research in order to increase the yield of artemisinin. In order to improve our understanding of terpene metabolism in the plant and to evaluate the competition for precursors, which may influence the yield of artemisinin, we have used qPCR to estimate the expression of 14 genes of terpene metabolism in different tissues.

Results

The four genes of the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway (amorpha-4,11-diene synthase, amorphadiene-

SUBMITTER: Olofsson L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3063820 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature