title: Overexpression of a Novel NAC Domain-Containing Transcription Factor Gene (AaNAC1) Enhances the Content of Artemisinin and Increases Tolerance to Drought and Botrytis cinerea in Artemisia annua.
abstract: The NAC (NAM, ATAF and CUC) superfamily is one of the largest plant-specific transcription factor families. NAC transcription factors always play important roles in response to various abiotic stresses. A NAC transcription factor gene AaNAC1 containing a complete open reading frame (ORF) of 864 bp was cloned from Artemisia annua. The expression of AaNAC1 could be induced by dehydration, cold, salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MJ), suggesting that it might be a key regulator of stress signaling pathways in A. annua. AaNAC1 was shown to be localized to the nuclei by transforming tobacco leaf epidermal cells. When AaNAC1 was overexpressed in A. annua, the content of artemisinin and dihydroartemisinic acid was increased by 79% and 150%, respectively. The expression levels of artemisinin biosynthetic pathway genes, i.e. amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS), artemisinic aldehyde Δ11(13) reductase (DBR2) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), were increased. Dual luciferase (dual-LUC) assays showed that AaNAC1 could activate the transcription of ADS in vivo. The transgenic A. annua exhibited increased tolerance to drought and resistance to Botrytis cinerea. When AaNAC1 was overexpressed in Arabidopsis, the transgenic Arabidopsis were markedly more tolerant to drought. The transgenic Arabidopsis showed increased resistance to B. cinerea. These results indicate that AaNAC1 can potentially be used in transgenic breeding for improving the content of artemisinin and drought tolerance in A. annua.
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Zongyou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Fangyuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, College of Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
authors.forename: Lingxian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Qifang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Xueqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China kxtang@sjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Kexuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D031172:Artemisia annua / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020171:Botrytis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D037621:Artemisinins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C031327:artemisinin
keywords: Artemisia annua; Artemisinin; Botrytis cinerea; Drought resistance; NAC transcription factors