Three times more artemisinin
Genetic engineering has made it possible to significantly increase the production of antimalarial agents by the plant
Marina Astvatsaturyan, Echo of Moscow
Genetic modification of annual wormwood – a natural source of artemisinin, the main component of medicines for malaria – led to a threefold increase in the level of biosynthesis of the valuable product by the leaves of the plant, reports Science News (Genetically modified plant may boost supply of a powerful malaria drug).
Previous attempts to increase artemisinin yield by genetic engineering of Artemisia annua wormwood have been unsuccessful. Now botanist Kexuan Tang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and colleagues have analyzed the entire genome of the plant and identified three genes that play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of artemisinin.
Genetic modification aimed at increasing the activity of these genes increased the level of artemisinin in the leaves from a baseline value of one percent dry weight to 3.2 percent. This was reported by Chinese scientists in the April issue of the journal Molecular Plant.
According to Tan, the risk of contracting malaria lies in wait for about half of the world's population. "Our strategy aimed at large-scale production of artemisinin corresponds to the increasing demand for antimalarial medicine and should help to cope with this global health problem," says the scientist.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2016, malaria affected about 216 million people in 91 countries, and this led to the death of 445 thousand people worldwide. The dominant malaria parasite on the African continent is Plasmodium falciparum, and it is the cause of most malaria–related deaths. And the best available treatment for malaria caused by this parasite is still artemisinin-based combination therapy, which is not enough for everyone.
"This is a historical article on the problem of artemisinin," says Akhil Vaidya, an immunologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, an expert at Science News. Artemisinin was discovered by the Chinese chemist Yu-Yu Tu (Youyou Tu) in 1972 while researching thousands of traditional Chinese medicine remedies. The discovery of Yu-Yu Tu, which has already saved millions of lives, in 2015 earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Pharmaceutical companies use genetically modified yeast to produce semi-synthetic artemisinin, but vegetable artemisinin is cheaper. Now, as part of field trials, the seeds of genetically modified wormwood have been sent to Madagascar, where most of the Artemisia annua plants are grown in Africa. In addition to antimalarial activity, artemisinin also has a therapeutic effect in some forms of cancer, tuberculosis and diabetes.
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