title: The genetic map of Artemisia annua L. identifies loci affecting yield of the antimalarial drug artemisinin.
abstract: Artemisinin is a plant natural product produced by Artemisia annua and the active ingredient in the most effective treatment for malaria. Efforts to eradicate malaria are increasing demand for an affordable, high-quality, robust supply of artemisinin. We performed deep sequencing on the transcriptome of A. annua to identify genes and markers for fast-track breeding. Extensive genetic variation enabled us to build a detailed genetic map with nine linkage groups. Replicated field trials resulted in a quantitative trait loci (QTL) map that accounts for a significant amount of the variation in key traits controlling artemisinin yield. Enrichment for positive QTLs in parents of new high-yielding hybrids confirms that the knowledge and tools to convert A. annua into a robust crop are now available.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5YW, UK. iag1@york.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Besser
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blumer
authors.forename: Caroline A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Branigan
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Czechowski
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guterman
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Isaac
authors.forename: Awais M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Tony R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pawson
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Penfield
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rae
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rathbone
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Margaret F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Smallwood
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Segura
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.forename: Darshna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Winzer
authors.forename: Dianna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bowles
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000378:metabolism*; D019306:Artemisia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017343:Genes, Plant; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C031327:artemisinin