York gets $13.6 million to improve malaria plant

Artemisia annua – currently the sole source of the antimalarial drug artemisinin

The goal of the research is to develop cultivars of the plant that produce increased yields of artemisinin for use in Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) –  identified by the World Health Organisation as the most effective treatment for falciparum malaria.

Demand for artemisinin to combat malaria in the developing world has grown dramatically in recent years due to the malarial parasite's increasing resistance to conventional monotherapies. It has been estimated that up to half a billion courses of ACT may be needed annually.

Shortage of the Artemisinin drug has seen prices rocket five-fold increase since 2004. The high-yield varieties of Artemisia annua that CNAP aims to develop could help reduce the cost and secure the supply of artemisinin. CNAP plans to make the seed available on an at-cost basis.

The grant covers a 4.5-year period.

'Promising' research

Regina Rabinovich, Director of Infectious Diseases for the Gates Foundation, said: “This promising research complements other important initiatives working to meet the urgent need for inexpensive, effective malaria treatments."

The project, led by CNAP's Director Dianna Bowles and Deputy Director Ian Graham, will use the highest-yield variety of Artemisia annua currently available as its starting point. Known as Artemis, this cultivar was bred by a Swiss not-for-profit organisation, Mediplant, a collaborator on the University of York project.

A chemical treatment that is widely used for breeding fruit, vegetables and other food crops will be applied to seed of this cultivar to create a population of Artemisia annua with increased genetic diversity. The plants will not be genetically engineered

The project will use two high-throughput screening methods to identify high-yield individuals within this population, one that detects diversity in individual A. annua genes, and a second that uses mass spectroscopy-based metabolite profiling methods. As high-yield individuals are identified, they will be back-crossed to establish genotypes that will be used as parents of high-yield hybrids suitable for roll-out.

Dianna Bowles, Director of CNAP, said: "The project is an excellent example of how modern plant science, founded in genomics, can benefit society.  This work could lead directly to making an effective cure for malaria cheaper and more accessible for people who need it most. We appreciate the support of the Gates Foundation in enabling us to go forward."

The project, which received early financial support from The Garfield Weston Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline and the Medicines for Malaria Venture, plans to field-trial the new varieties of artemis in areas of the developing world where malaria is endemic, and work with major manufacturers of ACTs to ensure that artemisinin extracted from the new cultivars conforms to pharmaceutical specifications.