Indole alkaloid production by transformed and non-transformed root cultures of Catharanthus roseus

• Published in: In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Plant 1994-01, Vol.30P (1), p.84-88
• Main Authors: Ciau-Uitz, R, Miranada-Ham, M.L, Coello-Coello, J, Chi, B, Pacheco, L.M, Loyola-Vargas, V.M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agrobacterium; AGROBACTERIUM RHIZOGENES; ALCALOIDE; ALCALOIDES; ALKALOIDS; Biological and medical sciences; BIOSINTESIS; BIOSYNTHESE; BIOSYNTHESIS; CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS; Cell growth; CULTIVO DE TEJIDOS; CULTURE DE TISSU; Cultured cells; EXPLANT; EXPLANTES; EXPLANTS; Flasks; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General pharmacology; GENETIC TRANSFORMATION; INDOL; Indole alkaloids; INDOLES; Medical sciences; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant cells; Plant physiology and development; Plant roots; Plants; RACINE; RAICES; ROOTS; Secondary Metabolism; Stems; TISSUE CULTURE; Tissue cultures, protoplasts; TRANSFORMACION GENETICA; TRANSFORMATION GENETIQUE
• ISSN: 1054-5476; 1475-2689
• DOI: 10.1007/BF02632126

Ten transformed and two non-transformed root lines of Catharanthus roseus were established. A systematic study of the growth kinetics and alkaloid content was performed over a culture cycle and showed significant differences between transformed and non-transformed cultures. Mean doubling times for transformed and normal root lines were 2.8 and 19.5 days, respectively. Alkaloid content in hairy roots was from two- to threefold higher than in the non-transformed tissues. The established transformed root lines produced a wide variety of indole alkaloids as can be observed from their complex thin layer chromatography patterns. A large quantity of serpentine was determined in two of the transformed root cultures. Alkaloid content, both quantitatively and qualitatively, has been stable in the hairy root cultures for more than 2 yr of subculturing.