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DOI: 10.1055/s-1999-14094
Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York
Seasonal Variations of Artemisinin and its Biosynthetic Precursors in Tetraploid Artemisia annua Plants Compared with the Diploid Wild-Type
Publication History
February 5, 1999
May 1, 1999
Publication Date:
31 December 1999 (online)
Abstract
Using colchicine we induced tetraploidy in Artemisia annua L. plants. During a vegetation period we monitored the time course of the levels of artemisinin, its direct precursors, the biosynthetically related sesquiterpenes and the essential oil content in the diploid (wild-type) and tetraploid A. annua plants. The averaged artemisinin level in tetraploids was 38 % higher than that of the wild-type as measured over the whole vegetation period. In contrast, the averaged essential oil content of the tetraploids over this period was 32 % lower. This might suggest a reciprocal correlation between artemisinin (sesquiterpenes) and the essential oil content (monoterpenes). The averaged biomass of the leaves of the tetraploid plants was lower compared to the wild-type plants. Therefore, the artemisinin yield per m2 tetraploids was decreased by 25 %. Although the tetraploid plants were smaller than the wild-type plants, certain individual organs like the leaves were considerably larger, and seeds obtained by cross pollination between tetraploid A. annua plants had a spectacular size. In principle, tetraploid A. annua can be a useful starting material for a breeding program in order to obtain larger and faster growing plants, which produce higher levels of artemisinin.
Key words:
Artemisia annuaL. - Asteraceae - artemisinin - biosynthetic precursors - seasonal variation - sesquiterpenes - tetraploidy