%A Liangyun Zhou,Guang Yang,Haifeng Sun,Jinfu Tang,Jian Yang,Yizhan Wang,Thomas Avery Garran,Lanping Guo %T Effects of different doses of cadmium on secondary metabolites and gene expression in Artemisia annua L. %0 Journal Article %D 2017 %J Front. Med. %J Frontiers of Medicine %@ 2095-0217 %R 10.1007/s11684-016-0486-3 %P 137-146 %V 11 %N 1 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-016-0486-3 %8 2017-03-20 %X

This study aims to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of artemisinin accumulation induced by cadmium (Cd). The effects of different Cd concentrations (0, 20, 60, and 120 μmol/L) on the biosynthesis of Artemisia annua L. were examined. Intermediate and end products were quantified by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis. The expression of key biosynthesis enzymes was also determined by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the application of treatment with 60 and 120 μmol/L Cd for 3 days significantly improved the biosynthesis of artemisinic acid, arteannuin B, and artemisinin. The concentrations of artemisinic acid, arteannuin B, and artemisinin in the 120 μmol/L Cd-treated group were 2.26, 102.08, and 33.63 times higher than those in the control group, respectively. The concentrations of arteannuin B and artemisinin in 60 μmol/L Cd-treated leaves were 61.10 and 26.40 times higher than those in the control group, respectively. The relative expression levels of HMGR, FPS, ADS, CYP71AV1, DBR2, ALDH1, and DXR were up-regulated in the 120 μmol/L Cd-treated group because of increased contents of artemisinic metabolites after 3 days of treatment. Hence, appropriate doses of Cd can increase the concentrations of artemisinic metabolites at a certain time point by up-regulating the relative expression levels of key enzyme genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis.