title: Dual symbiosis between Piriformospora indica and Azotobacter chroococcum enhances the artemisinin content in Artemisia annua L.
abstract: At present, Artemisia annua L. is the major source of artemisinin production. To control the outbreaks of malaria, artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are recommended, and hence an ample amount of artemisinin is required for ACTs manufacture to save millions of lives. The low yield of this antimalarial drug in A. annua L. plants (0.01-1.1%) ensues its short supply and high cost, thus making it a topic of scrutiny worldwide. In this study, the effects of root endophyte, Piriformospora indica strain DSM 11827 and nitrogen fixing bacterium, Azotobacter chroococcum strain W-5, either singly and/or in combination for artemisinin production in A. annua L. plants have been studied under poly house conditions. The plant growth was monitored by measuring parameters like height of plant, total dry weight and leaf yield with an increase of 63.51, 52.61 and 79.70% respectively, for treatment with dual biological consortium, as compared to that of control plants. This significant improvement in biomass was associated with higher total chlorophyll content (59.29%) and enhanced nutrition (especially nitrogen and phosphorus, 55.75 and 86.21% respectively). The concentration of artemisinin along with expression patterns of artemisinin biosynthesis genes were appreciably higher in dual treatment, which showed positive correlation. The study suggested the potential use of the consortium P. indica strain DSM 11827 and A. chroococcum strain W-5 in A. annua L. plants for increased overall productivity and sustainable agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Block 'E-3', 4th Floor, Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Noida, UP, 201313, India.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.affiliation: Centre for Transgenic Plant Development, Faculty of Science, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Parul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Block 'E-3', 4th Floor, Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Noida, UP, 201313, India.
authors.forename: Devendra Kumar
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Choudhary
authors.affiliation: Centre for Transgenic Plant Development, Faculty of Science, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Malik Zainul
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Abdin
authors.affiliation: Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Block 'E-3', 4th Floor, Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Noida, UP, 201313, India. ajitvarma@amity.edu.
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varma
mesh_terms: D031172:Artemisia annua / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001395:Azotobacter / Q000378:metabolism*; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000378:metabolism*; D018533:Biomass; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000302:isolation & purification; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D037621:Artemisinins; D002734:Chlorophyll; D010758:Phosphorus; D012313:RNA; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Artemisia annua; Artemisinin; Artemisinin biosynthesis genes; Azotobacter chroococcum (W-5); Dual symbiosis; Piriformospora indica