Influence of Agrobacterium rhizogenes on induction of hairy roots for enhanced production of artemisinin in Artemisia annua L. plants

Abstract

Artemisinin production from plant tissue cultures and induction of hairy roots in vitro have been considered to be a promising alternative, which offer a high degree of genetic stability, grow rapidly and produce the higher spectrum of secondary metabolites than wild type plants. Hairy root cultures developed from infection of different explants of in vitro germinated Artemisia annua L. plant with Agrobacterium rhizogenes LBA 9402 strain were selected on the basis of high artemisinin content and growth. Integration of the TL-DNA (rol gene) region of the pRi plasmid was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the gene located in this region. The effect of different environmental factors like temperature, pH, cultivation media and carbon source on growth and artemisinin production were studied in shake flask cultures. Detailed batch growth and production kinetics with sugar consumption profile were also established. Maximum volumetric productivity of 390 μg L^-1 day^-1 was obtained in hairy root cultures.

Keywords: Agrobacterium, Artemisia annua L., artemisinin, hairy root cultures