Pak. J. Bot., 48(2): 699-706, 2016.

PRODUCTION OF ARTEMISININ AND ITS DERIVATIVES IN HAIRY ROOTS OF ARTEMISIA DUBIA INDUCED BY rolA GENE TRANSFORMATION

AMANULLAH1, BUSHRA MIRZA1, ZARRIN FATIMA RIZVI2 AND MUHAMMAD ZIA3*

Abstract: Artemisinin and its derivatives are phytochemical constituents of genus Artemisia. Demand of these plant secondary metabolitesis increasing due to their immense therapeutic significance. Besides their established antimalarial role, recent studies have also disclosed their anticancer potentials. It has made imperative to develop new and efficient sources of these compounds. Inherent synthetic challenges give biological sources preference over chemical synthesis of artemisinin and its derivatives. Therefore, genetic improvement of plants and, rather less preferentially, microbes is focus of current research to gain increase productivity of these valuable drugs. This study has analyzed A. dubiaas potential source of artemisinin and its derivatives. Transformation of Artemisia dubia was carried out using A. tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 containing rolA gene constructed on pRB 29. Healthy and acclimatizable transgenic plants were produced using optimized concentrations of BAP and NAA. Previously acclimatized rol ABC transgenic plants were also In vitro regenerated for comparative analysis of artemisinin and its derivatives. PCR amplification of rolA gene was done to confirm the integration of T-DNA in transgenic plants.TLC analysis was performed to evaluate comparative production of artemisinin and derivatives in rolA and rol ABC transgenic A. dubia. It revealed that rolA transgenic plants contain comparable amounts of these metabolites. Both type oftransgenic plants manifested the enhancement of other uncharacterized compounds as well. Besides systematic optimization of In vitro regenerative protocol for Artemisia dubia, relative regeneration ability of rol transgenic and controlplants was also assessed at four regenerative stages. It was observed that unlike control, rol transgenic plants showed best root induction only on combination of auxins and cytokines. It was concluded that rol genes transformation of plants is an efficient tool to enhance their secondary metabolites production. RolA transgenic A. dubiaare cultivable, viable and efficient source of artemisinin and its derivatives to meet their ever-growing demands.

Key words: Genetic transformation, Artemisinin, Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

2GC Women University Sialkot, 51310, Pakistan

3Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

*Corresponding author: ziachaudhary@gmail.com