Calystegines in root cultures of Atropa belladonna respond to sucrose, not to elicitation

• Published in: Plant science (Limerick) 2001-04, Vol.160 (5), p.1043-1053
• Main Authors: Rothe, Grit, Garske, Uta, Dräger, Birgit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Atropa belladonna; Biological and medical sciences; Calystegine; Defence; Economic plant physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Metabolism; Metabolism. Physicochemical requirements; Nitrogen metabolism and other ones (excepting carbon metabolism); Nutrition. Photosynthesis. Respiration. Metabolism; Plant physiology and development; Root culture; Solanaceae; Sucrose; Tropane alkaloid
• ISSN: 0168-9452; 1873-2259
• DOI: 10.1016/S0168-9452(01)00355-7

Calystegines are norpseudotropine alkaloids accumulating in root cultures of Atropa belladonna, together with tropine derivatives, e.g. hyoscyamine. Both alkaloid groups are derived from the tropane alkaloid pathway. For the investigation of the regulation and individual steps of tropane biosynthesis, methods for the induction of the pathway were tested. Elicitation by chitosan, or defence responses to ABA and methyl jasmonate did not enhance calystegine accumulation, but led to a more or less pronounced decrease. By blocking one arm of the diverged tropane pathway, calystegine accumulation can be increased, but total tropane alkaloid formation does not increase considerably. By elevation of sucrose supply, both, total alkaloids and calystegines in particular were increased approximately threefold. The mechanism of the induction of the biosynthesis by sucrose is not known and needs further experiments.