A survey on the expression of ADS, DBR2 and SQS genes in five Artemisia species

Artemisinin is a secondary metabolite with antimalarial properties. In addition to this, it has activities against a wide variety of cancers such as human leukemia, breast and colon cancer, and carcinomas. It has also shown anti hepatitis B, anti-HIV, anti-leishmanial and anti-schistosomiatic activities. This compound is produced by many species of the genus Artemisia, and for the first time it was detected in A. annua. In this study, the expression patterns of ADS, DBR2 and SQS genes were investigated in five species include A. annua, A. dracunculus, A. vulgaris, A. absinthium, and A. sieberi. Extraction of total RNA and production of cDNA were from the two-month-old plant leaves. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed to analyse the gene expression of these genes and actin gene was used as the internal control. Also, PCR products were loaded on the agarose gel (1 % w/v). Quantification of band density was carried out using Imag J software and data analysis was conducted using the SAS software. Results showed that expression pattern of the studied genes were different, so that a higher transcript level of SQS gene was observed in A. vulgaris, A. dracunculus and A. annua. Transcript level of ADS was higher than other genes in A. sieberi and A. absinthium. Different expression patterns of these genes can be interpreted as potentially different artemisinin contents in these species.