The oligosaccharide elicitor from the mycelial wall of an endophytic Colletotrichum sp. B501 promoted the production of artemisinin in Artemisia annua L. hairy root culture. When hairy roots of 22-day-old cultures (later growth phase) were exposed to the elicitor (20 mg/L) for 4 d, the maximum content of artemisinin reached 1.15 mg/g, a 64.29% increment over the control. The electron X-ray microanalysis disclosed the rapid accumulation of Ca 2+ in the elicited cortical cells of hairy root. The electronic microscope observation revealed the high electron density area in vacuole of elicited cells. During the first day of elicitation the peroxidase activity of hairy roots was improved sharply. Some cellular morphological changes including cell shrinkage, condensation of cytoplasm and nuclear fragmentation, coincident with the appearance of DNA ladders, were observed after the third day of elicitation. It was suggested that the oligosaccharide elicitor triggered the programmed cell death, which may provide the substance or chemical signal for artemisinin biosynthesis.
