Genome-wide identification of the WD40 protein family and functional characterization of AaTTG1 in Artemisia annua.

Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), an annual herb belonging to the Compositae family, is the main source of the potent anti-malarial drug artemisinin, which is mainly produced in glandular trichomes of A. annua leaves. The WD40 protein family is one of the largest protein families in eukaryotes and plays crucial roles in regulating plant growth and development, stress responses, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

Relevance and regulation of alternative splicing in plant secondary metabolism: current understanding and future directions.

The secondary metabolism of plants is an essential life process enabling organisms to navigate various stages of plant development and cope with ever-changing environmental stresses. Secondary metabolites, abundantly found in nature, possess significant medicinal value. Among the regulatory mechanisms governing these metabolic processes, alternative splicing stands out as a widely observed post-transcriptional mechanism present in multicellular organisms.

Targeted mutagenesis in Arabidopsis and medicinal plants using transposon-associated TnpB.

The programmable nuclease TnpB is significantly smaller than Cas9, can edit genes in medicinal plants, including Artemisia annua, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Scutellaria baicalensis, Isatis indigotica, and Codonopsis pilosula, and has potential uses in molecular breeding to enhance crop yield and quality.

TrichomeLess Regulator 3 is required for trichome initial and cuticle biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin is primarily synthesized and stored in the subepidermal space of the glandular trichomes of Artemisia annua. The augmentation of trichome density has been demonstrated to enhance artemisinin yield. However, existing literature lacks insights into the correlation between the stratum corneum and trichomes.

Feedback regulation of plant secondary metabolism: Applications and challenges.

Plant secondary metabolites offer resistance to invasion by herbivorous organisms, and are also useful in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and fragrance industries. There are numerous approaches to enhancing secondary metabolite yields. However, a growing number of studies has indicated that feedback regulation may be critical in regulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

Corrigendum: SbWRKY75- and SbWRKY41- mediated jasmonic acid signaling regulates baicalin biosynthesis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.

Phenotyping of Roots Reveals Associations between Root Traits and Bioactive Components.

Plant phenomics aims to perform high-throughput, rapid, and accurate measurement of plant traits, facilitating the identification of desirable traits and optimal genotypes for crop breeding. (Danshen) roots possess remarkable therapeutic effect on cardiovascular diseases, with huge market demands. Although great advances have been made in metabolic studies of the bioactive metabolites, investigation for .

Effects of exogenous indole-3-acetic acid on the density of trichomes, expression of artemisinin biosynthetic genes, and artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin is the most practical medication for the treatment of malaria, but is only very minimally synthesized in Artemisia annua, significantly less than the market needs. In this study, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was used to investigate its effects on trichomes, artemisinin accumulation, and biosynthetic gene expression in A. anuua.

AaWRKY6 contributes to artemisinin accumulation during growth in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin, which is extracted from the plant Artemisia annua L., is a crucial drug for curing malaria and has potential applications for treating cancer, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, and other conditions. Demand for artemisinin is therefore high, and enhancing its yield is important.

SbWRKY75- and SbWRKY41-mediated jasmonic acid signaling regulates baicalin biosynthesis.

Introduction: Georgi is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant with broad pharmacological activities whose main active ingredient is the flavonoid baicalin. Given its medicinal value and increasing market demand, it is essential to improve the plant's baicalin content. Flavonoid biosynthesis is regulated by several phytohormones, primarily jasmonic acid (JA).

The transcription factors SbMYB45 and SbMYB86.1 regulate flavone biosynthesis in Scutellaria baicalensis.

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is an important Chinese medicinal plant that is rich in the flavones baicalin, wogonoside, and wogonin, providing it with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. However, although the biosynthetic pathways of baicalin and its derivates have been elucidated, the regulation of flavone biosynthesis in S. baicalensis is poorly understood.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of BcTSA in the biosynthesis of indole alkaloids in .

(Nees) Bremek () is an essential traditional Chinese herb that is commonly used to treat colds, fever, and influenza. Indole alkaloids, such as indigo and indirubin, are the primary active constituents of . The indole-producing reaction is crucial for regulating the flow of indole alkaloids metabolites along the pathways and coordinating primary and secondary product biosynthesis in plants.

Profiling of phytohormone-specific microRNAs and characterization of the miR160-ARF1 module involved in glandular trichome development and artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in plant development and secondary metabolism through different modes of sequence-specific interaction with their targets. Artemisinin biosynthesis is extensively regulated by phytohormones. However, the function of phytohormone-responsive miRNAs in artemisinin biosynthesis remains enigmatic.

The transcription factors TLR1 and TLR2 negatively regulate trichome density and artemisinin levels in Artemisia annua.

The important antimalarial drug artemisinin is biosynthesized and stored in Artemisia annua glandular trichomes and the artemisinin content correlates with trichome density; however, the factors affecting trichome development are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the A. annua R2R3 MYB transcription factor TrichomeLess Regulator 1 (TLR1) negatively regulates trichome development.

Strategic nanoparticle-mediated plant disease resistance.

Nanotechnology is a promising means for development of sustainable agriculture while the study of nanoparticle-mediated plant disease resistance is still in its primary stage. Nanotechnology has shown great promise in regulating: the content of secondary metabolites, inducing disease resistance genes, delivering hormones, delivering biomolecules (such as: nucleotides, proteins, and activators), and obtaining transgenic plants to resist plant diseases. In this review, we conclude its versatility and applicability in disease management strategies and diagnostics and as molecular tools.

Isatis indigotica: from (ethno) botany, biochemistry to synthetic biology.

Isatis indigotica Fort. (Chinese woad) is a species with an ancient and well-documented history as an indigo dye and medicinal plant. It is often confused with Isatis tinctoria L.

Phytohormone-Based Regulation of Trichome Development.

Phytohormones affect plant growth and development. Many phytohormones are involved in the initiation of trichome development, which can help prevent damage from UV radiation and insect bites and produce fragrance, flavors, and compounds used as pharmaceuticals. Phytohormones promote the participation of transcription factors in the initiation of trichome development; for example, the transcription factors HDZIP, bHLH and MYB interact and form transcriptional complexes to regulate trichome development.

Structure-based engineering of substrate specificity for pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductases.

Pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductases (PLRs) are enzymes involved in the lignan biosynthesis after the initial dimerization of two monolignols, and this represents the entry point for the synthesis of 8-8' lignans and contributes greatly to their structural diversity. Of particular interest has been the determination of how differing substrate specificities are achieved with these enzymes. Here, we present crystal structures of IiPLR1 from Isatis indigotica and pinoresinol reductases (PrRs) AtPrR1 and AtPrR2 from Arabidopsis thaliana, in the apo, substrate-bound and product-bound states.

Jasmonate- and abscisic acid-activated AaGSW1-AaTCP15/AaORA transcriptional cascade promotes artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone widely used in malaria treatment, was discovered in the medicinal plant Artemisia annua. The biosynthesis of artemisinin is efficiently regulated by jasmonate (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) via regulatory factors. However, the mechanisms linking JA and ABA signalling with artemisinin biosynthesis through an associated regulatory network of downstream transcription factors (TFs) remain enigmatic.

MYC2b Enhances Tanshinone Accumulation in by Activating Pathway Genes and Promoting Lateral Root Development.

Bunge (Lamiaceae) is an economically important medicinal plant as well as an emerging model plant. Our previous studies indicate that MYC2b is a positive transcription factor that can affect the biosynthesis of phenolic acids and tanshinones in Moreover, MYC2s are well known to induce the development of lateral roots. As tanshinones are mainly distributed in the periderm, the promotion of lateral root development probably leads to increased accumulation of tanshinones.

Nanoparticle-mediated gene transformation strategies for plant genetic engineering.

Plant genetic engineering, a recent technological advancement in the field of plant science, is an important tool used to improve crop quality and yield, to enhance secondary metabolite content in medicinal plants or to develop crops for sustainable agriculture. A new approach based on nanoparticle-mediated gene transformation can overcome the obstacle of the plant cell wall and accurately transfer DNA or RNA into plants to produce transient or stable transformation. In this review, several nanoparticle-based approaches are discussed, taking into account recent advances and challenges to hint at potential applications of these approaches in transgenic plant improvement programs.

Interaction of bZIP transcription factor TGA6 with salicylic acid signaling modulates artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone produced by the Chinese traditional herb Artemisia annua and is used for the treatment of malaria. It is known that salicylic acid (SA) can enhance artemisinin content but the mechanism by which it does so is not known. In this study, we systematically investigated a basic leucine zipper family transcription factor, AaTGA6, involved in SA signaling to regulate artemisinin biosynthesis.

The SPB-Box Transcription Factor Positively Regulates Artemisinin Biosynthesis in L.

Artemisinin, an important compound produced by , is the active ingredient in the treatment of malaria. Jasmonic acid, one of the phytohormones, is an important elicitor of artemisinin biosynthesis by enhancing transcription levels of transcription factors. SPL transcription factors are plant-specific transcription factors of plant growth, development, and secondary metabolism regulation.

Targeted expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin improves the production of tropane alkaloids in Hyoscyamus niger hairy roots.

Under hypoxic conditions, the expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) in plants is proposed to increase the productivity of certain oxygen-requiring metabolic pathways by promoting the delivery of oxygen. Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are a class of important plant secondary metabolites with significant medicinal value; the final step in their biosynthesis requires oxygen. Whether heterologous expression of VHb, especially in different subcellular compartments, can accelerate the accumulation of TAs is not known.

Network analysis of ABA-dependent and ABA-independent drought responsive genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Drought is one of the most severe abiotic factors restricting plant growth and yield. Numerous genes functioning in drought response are regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) dependent and independent pathways, but knowledge of interplay between the two pathways is still limited. Here, we integrated transcriptome sequencing and network analyses to explore interplays between ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways responding to drought stress in Arabidopsis thaliana.