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In vitro culture of Taxus sp.: strategies to increase cell growth and taxoid production

Phytochemistry Reviews volume 9, pages 343–356 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Interest in Taxus species has increased since paclitaxel, an anticancer drug, was isolated from the bark of Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew) in the 1960’s. Great effort has been carried out to establish an efficient callus cultures of Taxus species. Culture media must be optimized for each Taxus species, and in general, there is no one method that guarantees success for Taxus cultures. The source of explant, culture medium composition and the growth regulators used appear to affect callus initiation and maintenance. Research effort has focused on obtaining a cell culture that exhibits good growth and a high rate of taxoid accumulation. In this sense, many strategies have been employed to stimulate taxoid production without affecting cell growth. In an attempt to scale-up cell culture, problems such us shear stress, oxygen supply and gas composition have been studied. A more detailed knowledge of the pathway and the fluxes of intermediates towards taxane accumulation will be key factors to obtain cell lines with increased taxane accumulation through metabolic engineering.

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Abbreviations

6-BA:

6-Benzylaminopurine

10-DAB III:

10-deacetyl-baccatin III

2,4-D:

2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

DHPJ:

2, 3-dihydroxypropyl jasmonate

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

DW:

Dry weight

GGPP:

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate

GA3 :

Gibbelleric acid

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

MES:

2-(N-morpholino)-ethanesulfonic acid

La3+ :

Lanthanum ions

MJ:

Methyl jasmonate

NAA:

Alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid

PVP:

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

Tc:

Taxuyunnanine C

VSO4 :

Vanadium sulfate

VOSO4 :

Vanadyl sulfate

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere gratitude to Mª Angeles Pedreño for her help in the revision of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Consejería de Educación, Ciencia e Investigación de la Región de Murcia [BIO BVA 07 01 0003] and Fundación Séneca [08799/PI/08]. Sabater-Jara AB held a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    A. B. Sabater-Jara

  2. R&D Department of Plant Biotechnology, Viveros Bermejo, S.L, Murcia, Spain

    L. R. Tudela & A. J. López-Pérez

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  1. A. B. Sabater-Jara
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  2. L. R. Tudela
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  3. A. J. López-Pérez
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Correspondence to A. B. Sabater-Jara.

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Sabater-Jara, A.B., Tudela, L.R. & López-Pérez, A.J. In vitro culture of Taxus sp.: strategies to increase cell growth and taxoid production. Phytochem Rev 9, 343–356 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-010-9167-z

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Keywords

  • Biotechnology
  • Paclitaxel accumulation
  • Plant cell culture
  • Secondary metabolite production