Title: Yabby-mediated transcriptional regulation of artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua
Abstract:
Artemisinin is an effective antimalarial sesquiterpene lactone synthesized in Artemisia annua. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the best choice to cure acute malaria. Many transcription factors regulating artemisinin biosynthesis have been reported so far. However, the role of the YABBY family in artemisinin biosynthesis was not studied before. YABBY is a small family of transcription factors specific to seed plants and controls various aspects of leaf growth and development, as well as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. During my research, the molecular mechanism of the AaYABBY5 transcription factor regulating artemisinin and flavonoid biosynthesis is studied. In artemisinin biosynthesis: AaYABBY5 regulates artemisinin biosynthesis through activating CYP71AV1 and DBR2 promoters. JA-regulated AaGSW1-AaYABBY5/AaWRKY9 complex indirectly regulates artemisinin biosynthesis in a positive feedback loop. In flavonoid biosynthesis: AaYABBY5 directly targets the PAL, CHI, CHS, and UFGT genes and regulates the total flavonoid and anthocyanins content. In future work, detailed characterization of AaYAB1, AaFIL, and AaYAB3 towards artemisinin and flavonoid biosynthesis will be performed. This work will increase knowledge about YABBY-mediated artemisinin regulation. The proposed study could potentially provide a genetic resource of A. annua with high artemisinin and flavonoid content, thus helping the artemisinin commercialization
