Find in Library

The plant <i>Artemisia annua</i> L. is famous for producing “artemisinin”, which is an essential component in the treatment of malaria. The glandular secretory trichomes (GSTs) on the leaves of <i>A. annua</i> secrete and store artemisinin. Previous research has demonstrated that raising GST density can effectively raise artemisinin content. However, the molecular mechanism of GST initiation is not fully understood yet. In this study, we identified an MYB transcription factor, the <i>AaMYB108-like</i>, which is co-induced by light and jasmonic acid, and positively regulates glandular secretory trichome initiation in <i>A. annua</i>. Overexpression of the <i>AaMYB108-like</i> gene in <i>A. annua</i> increased GST density and enhanced the artemisinin content, whereas anti-sense of the <i>AaMYB108-like</i> gene resulted in the reduction in GST density and artemisinin content. Further experiments demonstrated that the <i>AaMYB108-like</i> gene could form a complex with AaHD8 to promote the expression of downstream <i>AaHD1</i>, resulting in the initiation of GST. Taken together, the <i>AaMYB108-like</i> gene is a positive regulator induced by light and jasmonic acid for GST initiation in <i>A. annua.</i>