Foaming and cell flotation in suspended plant cell cultures and the effect of chemical antifoams

Foam development and stability in Atropa belladonna suspensions were investigated as a function of culture conditions. Foaming was due mainly to properties of the cell-free broth and was correlated with protein content; effects due to presence of cells increased towards the end of batch culture. Highest foam levels were measured 11 days after inoculation. Air flow rate was of major importance in determining foam volume; foam volume and stability were also strongly dependent on pH. Foam flotation of plant cells was very effective. After 30 min foaming, ca. 55% of cells were found in the foam; this increased to ca. 75% after 90 min. Polypropylene glycol 1025 and 2025, Pluronic PE 6100, and Antifoam-C emulsion were tested as chemical antifoams. Polypropylene glycol 1025 and Antifoam C at concentrations up to 600 ppm had no adverse effect on growth in shake flasks; Pluronic PE 6100 has an inhibitory effect at all levels tested. Concentrations of polypropylene glycol 2025 and Pluronic PE 6100 as low as 20 ppm reduced foam volumes by a factor of ca. 10. Addition of antifoam reduced k(L)a values in bubble-column and stirred-tank bioreactors. After operation of a stirred reactor for 2 days using Antifoam C for foam control, cell production was limited by oxygen due to the effect of antifoam on mass transfer. Theoretical analysis showed that maximum cell concentrations and biomass levels decline with increasing reactors working volume due to greater consumption of antifoam to prevent foam overflow. The results indicate that when chemical foam control is used in plant cell cultures, head-space volume and tolerable foam levels must be considered to optimize biomass production. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

In vitro propagation of Amaryllis belladonna

Amaryllis belladonna L. plants were multiplied successfully by means of tissue culture techniques. Different plant parts were tested as explant material, but plantlets could only be generated from the twin-scales and immature scapes. These in vitro-formed plantlets were divided into four parts and used for further multiplication. The twin-scale explants had the highest multiplication rate when a medium with 22.2 M benzyladenine and 0.54 M naphthaleneacetic acid was used. The sucrose concentration played an important role in the initiation of new plantlets, and the best results were obtained when a sucrose concentration of 2–3% was used. Anatomical observations were made during the initiation of the new plantlets.Abbreviations BA benzyladenine - NAA naphthaleneacetic acid - Benomyl (methyl [1-[(butylamino) carbonyl]-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl] carbamate) - Folpet (2-[(trichloromethyl)thio]-H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione phthalimide(I))     

中国斑粉蝶属分类研究（鳞翅目：粉蝶科）

系统地整理了中国斑粉蝶属DeliasHübner,1819的全部种类,共11种31亚种,包括3个中国 新记录亚种：倍林斑粉蝶指名亚种D. berinda berinda Moore、洒青斑粉蝶不丹亚种D.Sanaca bhutya Talbot和侧条斑粉蝶帕瓦亚种D. lativitta parva Talbot。提出将D.Lativitta tai Yoshino作为侧条斑粉蝶云南亚种D. lativitta yunnana Talbot的同物 异名,D. patrua guiyangensis Zhou et Zhang作为Delias berinda adelma Mitis的同物异名。阐述了各亚种的主要识别特征及其地理分布,分析了区系成分,并提供了分 种检索表及全部种类的雄外生殖器和大部分种类的雌性外生殖器特征图。附有3新记录亚种和国 内未见标本记载的2种的成虫彩色照片     

Production of tropane alkaloids by transformed root cultures of Atropa belladonna in stirred bioreactors with a stainless steel net

A scale up of transformed root cultures of Atropa belladonna from a 300-ml flask to a 30-l tank was accomplished without any reduction in alkaloid productivity. Cutting treatment of seed cultures showed no distinct effect on root growth, morphology, and alkaloid content in conical flasks during 1 month of culture. Randomly cut roots thus grown were further cultivated in 3-l and 30-l modified stirred bioreactors for a scale-up culture. After 1 month of culture, 1490 mg of tropane alkaloids was produced by a 30-l culture of A. belladonna transformed roots. These roots contained the same level of atropine (5.4 mg/ g dw) as the roots of this plant grown in the field for 12 months and still contained a considerable amount of other alkaloids including 1.6 mg/g dw of 6-β-hydroxyhyoscyamine, 0.9 mg/g dw of scopolamine, and 2.0 mg/g dw of littorine. Received: 12 June 1998 / Revision received: 31 August 1998 / Accepted: 27 October 1998     

Oxygen requirements and mass transfer in hairy-root culture

Oxygen mass transfer in clumps of Atropa belladonna hairy roots was investigated as a function of root density and external flow conditions. Convection was the dominant mechanism for mass transfer into root clumps 3.5 to 5.0 cm in diameter; Peclet numbers inside the clumps ranged from 1.4 x 10(3) to 7.1 x 10(4) for external superficial flow velocities between 0.4 and 1.4 cm s(-1). Local dissolved-oxygen levels and rates of oxygen uptake were measured in aflow chamber and in bubble column and stirred bioreactors. When air was used as oxygen source, intraclump dissolved-oxygen tensions ranged from90% to 100% air saturation at high external flow velocity andlow root density, to less than 20% air saturation in dense root clumps. Specific oxygen-uptake rate declined with increasing root density. When external boundary layers around individual roots were eliminated byforcing liquid through the clumps at superficial velocities between 0.2 and1.0 cm s(-1), internal dissolved-oxygen tension was maintained at 95% to 100% air saturation and rate of oxygen uptake at 1.6 x 10(-6) g g(-1) s(-1) dry weight. Liquid culture of single A. belladonna hairy roots was used to investigate the effect of dissolved-oxygen tensionon root growth and morphology. Total root length and number of root tips increased exponentially at oxygen tensions between 70% and 100%air saturation. Specific growth rate increased with oxygen tension up to 100% air saturation; this result demonstrates that hairy roots aeratedwithout oxygen supplementation are likely to be oxygenlimited. No growth occurred at 50% air saturation. Growth of hairy roots proceeded with an average length per tip of about 1 cm; this value was essentially independent of dissolved-oxygen tension between 70% and 100% air saturation. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of Tiron, a water soluble radical scavenger, on growth, morphology and alkaloid content of adventitious roots in Atropa belladonna

 The effect of Tiron (disodium 1,2-dihydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonate) on the growth, morphology and alkaloid content of adventitious roots in Atropa belladonna was investigated. High concentrations of Tiron had an inhibitory effect on growth of the root. The appearance of cultured roots was significantly changed from rough roots accompanied with callus-like tissue in control cultures to fine roots without callus formation. Alkaloid content was drastically increased by the addition of 1 mM Tiron to the medium. The influence of NAA, which has an inhibitory effect on alkaloid production, was partially restored by Tiron treatment, indicating that this radical scavenger may affect the production of alkaloids through modulation of the mode of action of auxin. Glutathione content of the root was not influenced by Tiron. Received: 3 June 1999 / Revision received: 28 September 1999 / Accepted: 30 September 1999     

Tracking ancient polyploids: a retroposon insertion reveals an extinct diploid ancestor in the polyploid origin of belladonna

Polyploidy is a prominent process in plant evolution and adaptation, but molecular phylogenetic studies of polyploids based on DNA sequences have often been confounded by their complex gene and genome histories. We report here a retroposon insertion in the nuclear gene granule-bound starch synthase I (GBSSI or "waxy") that clearly reveals the ancient hybrid history of the medically important polyploid species belladonna (Atropa belladonna) and resolves the controversy over the taxonomic group to which it belongs, the tribe Hyoscyameae (Solanaceae). Our inferences based on the pattern of presence or absence of the retroposon insertion are corroborated by phylogenetic analyses of the GBSSI gene sequences. This case may suggest that retroposons are promising molecular markers to study polyploid evolution.     

UV-B辐射对颠茄氮代谢及次生代谢产物含量的影响

有害的中波紫外线（ultraviolet B,UV-B;280～320 nm）辐射影响植物的生长与发育。但也有研究证明,UV-B辐射可诱导生物碱合成。然而,UV-B辐射能否提高颠茄(Atropa belladonna L.)中托品烷类生物碱（tropane alkaloids,TAs）的含量尚未见报道。本研究以颠茄实生苗为材料,研究UV-B不同照射度强、时间（d数）对颠茄的氮代谢、生物碱含量及TAs代谢途径中的几个关键酶基因表达量的影响。结果表明,随着辐射天数的增加（5～30 d）,低强度（LU,5 μW/cm2）UV-B处理与对照（无辐射）比较,硝态氮、莨菪碱、东莨菪碱含量无显著差异。然而,中等强度（MU,10 μW/cm2）和高强度（HU,15 μW/cm2）UV-B辐射,明显增加硝态氮含量,谷氨酰胺合成酶（glutamine synthetase,GS）、谷氨酸脱氢酶（glutamine dehydrogenase,GDH）活性明显高于对照。重要的是,中、高强度UV-B辐射显著降低了颠茄的叶片与茎中莨菪碱和东莨菪碱含量。荧光定量PCR揭示,莨菪碱合成的关键酶腐胺N 甲基转移酶（putrescine N methyltransferase,PMT）编码基因、莨菪碱-6-β-羟化酶（hyoscyamine-6-β-hydroxylase,H6H）基因表达呈高度组织特异性,主要是在根部表达。与对照比较,低强度照射25 d引起pmt在根部的表达量显著上调,而中、高强度照射导致其下调;h6h在根部的相对表达量随着处理强度的增加逐渐降低;托品酮还原酶Ⅰ（tropinone reductaseⅠ, TRⅠ）编码基因在叶片中的表达量较高,随照射强度的增加而升高。上述结果表明,低强度UV-B辐射促进氮代谢,有利于莨菪碱合成;而长期中、高强度UV-B辐射,尽管促进了谷氨酸代谢,但却使pmt和h6h表达降低,不利于莨菪碱和东莨菪碱的积累。总之,本研究结果显示,不同UV-B辐射强度和时间,对颠茄合成TAs的影响不同,可为大田试验生产莨菪碱提供有益的参考。     

The uptake of phenylalanine into suspension-cultured cells of Atropa belladonna

When suspension-cultured cells of Atropa belladonna L. were in late growth phase, phenylalanine, one of the early precursors of atropine, was taken up mainly by diffusion without carrier but also actively via mediated transport. The uptake capacity of different callus lines varied from 0.4 to 1.9 μol (g fresh weight)⁻¹ h⁻¹ with an optimum pH at 4.5 or 5.0, depending on the callus line, 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) and KCN inhibited about 35–45% of the total uptake in all tested callus lines, so that a part of the uptke was dependent on metabolic energy.
The rate of phenylalanine uptake was fastest from 2 to 7 days after the start of the suspension culture. The increase was from 50 to 300%, depending on the cell line. The enhancement was mainly due to increased mediated uptake and could be inhibited by cycloheximide during the first days of the suspension culture. Glutamine, added to the nutrient medium, also prevented the increase. The inhibition caused by glutamine together with cycloheximide was not additive. Obviously, glutamine did not directly affect the carrier, but possibly repressed its synthesis. When cells entered the stationary phase, the total uptake began to decrease, and most of it was non-mediated. The suspension cultures of A. belladonna had only limited capacity to regulate the transport of phenylalanine into the cells at this phase of growth.     

Isolation of Embryo Sac with the Enzyme-Squash Technique

The enzyme-squash technique is especially suited for studying the development of megaspores and embryo sacs in angiosperms. Ovulles are fixed in FPA, FAA or Carnoy's for 2–24 hrs. After passing through a series of alcohol and distilled water, they are treated in an aqueous solution of 2% Driselase. for 3-6 hrs. at 28℃. Ovules are then transferred with a drop of laeto-phenol-glycerin fluid to a slide, covered with a cover glass. By the aid of gently tapping and pressing the cover glass, as that of ordinary squash method, cells of ovules are separated and the megaspores or embryo sacs are isolated, and then examined with phase contrast optics With this technique we have successfully isolated the megaspores and embryo sacs in different developmental stages from fixed ovules of several plant species, including Atropa belladonha, Vanilla fragrans, Belamcanda chinensis, Platycodon grandifIorus and Oenothera odorata. The rosults of the experiments indicate that this technique for isolation of embryo sac has several advantages it is suitable both in tenuinucellate and crassinucellate ovules the manipulation of this technique is rather simple and the special instruments are net required the difficulties of the separation of the embryo sac from its nucellar epidermis or tissues of the chalazal end can be overcome by this method. The initial results of isolation of vital embryo sacs from living ovules has been gotten with this technique.