Accumulation of essential oils by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-transformed shoot cultures of Pimpinella anisum

Abstract

Axenic transformed shoot cultures of Pimpinella anisum (anise) were established following inoculation of plant stems with the nopaline strain T37 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The stable incorporation of T-DNA in the transformed tissues was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction. Total essential oil accumulated by transformed shoot cultures grown under continuous light was found to be 18% lower (per unit fresh weight of tissue) than that produced by untransformed shoot cultures incubated under similar conditions, but more than 89% lower than the yield of oil from the intact plant. The relative amounts of the principal components of the essential oil of the transformed shoot cultures, namely geraniol, β-bisabolene, trans-pseudoisoeugenol-2-methylbutyrate and transanethole, were similar to those present in the parent plant, but significantly different from those of the untransformed shoot cultures.