Application of cell technologies for production of plant-derived bioactive substances of plant origin

Bioactive substances (BAS) of plant origin are known to play a very important role in modern medicine. Their use, however, is often limited by availability of plant resources and may jeopardize rare species of medicinal plants. Plant cell cultures can serve as a renewable source of valuable secondary metabolites. To the date, however, only few examples of their commercial use are known. The main reasons for such a situation are the insufficient production of secondary metabolites and high cultivation costs. It is possible to increase the performance of plant cell cultures by one or two orders of magnitude using traditional methods, such as selection of highly productive strains, optimization of the medium composition, elicitation, and addition of precursors of secondary metabolite biosynthesis. The progress in molecular biology methods brought about the advent of new means for increasing of the productivity of cell cultures based on the methods of metabolic engineering. Thus, overexpression of genes encoding the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the target product or, by contrast, repression of these genes significantly influences the cell biosynthetic capacity in vitro. Nevertheless, the attempts of the production of many secondary metabolites in plant cell culture were unsuccessful so far, probably due to the peculiarities of the cell culture as an artificial population of plant somatic cells. The use of plant organ culture or transformed roots (hairy root) could turn to be a considerably more efficient solution for this problem. The production of plant-derived secondary metabolites in yeast or bacteria transformed with plant genes is being studied currently. Although the attempts to use metabolic engineering methods were not particularly successful so far, new insights in biochemistry and physiology of secondary metabolism, particularly in regulation and compartmentation of secondary metabolite synthesis as well as mechanisms of their transport and storage make these approaches promising.     

Production of anthocyanins by plant cell cultures

Anthocyanins, responsible for the various attractive colors in plants, are becoming important alternative to many synthetic colorants due to increased public concerns over the safety of artificial food colors. Production of anthocyanins by plant cell cultures has been suggested as a feasible technology that has attracted considerable industrial and academic interests in the past two decades. This paper is to provide an overview of the present status and the future prospects in the commercial development of plant cell cultures for production of anthocyanins. The focus is on the strategies for enhancement of anthocyanin biosynthesis to achieve an economically viable technology for commercial applications. Through strain improvement, optimization of media and culture conditions, and intelligent process strategies such as elicitation and two-stage system, significant enhancement in productivity has been achieved in a number of cultures. However the yield of anthocyanins obtained so far is still far away from the full potential of anthocyanin synthesis by plant cell cultures. Further improvements require the insights on the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis, accumulation, storage and breakdown that will eventually lead to genetic manipulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Many studies have elucidated the metabolic pathway of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Preliminary studies on the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis on the levels of genes and enzymes are reviewed, showing that it is feasible to clone genes from secondary metabolism with an improved yield of anthocyanins. There is currently no commercial-scale trial for production of anthocyanin by plant cell cultures, but an intelligent integration of those existing strategies could provide a technology for industrial application competitive to the current production methods.     

Critical analysis of protein signaling networks involved in the regulation of plant secondary metabolism: focus on anthocyanins

Anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis is a convenient and relatively simple model for investigating the basic principles of secondary metabolism regulation. In recent years, many publications have described links between anthocyanin biosynthesis and general defense reactions in plants as well as photomorphogenesis and hormonal signaling. These relationships are complex, and they cannot be understood intuitively. Upon observing the lacuna in the Arabidopsis interactome (an interaction map of the factors involved in the regulation of Arabidopsis secondary metabolism is not available), we attempted to connect various cellular processes that affect anthocyanin biosynthesis. In this review, we revealed the main signaling protein modules that regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis. To our knowledge, this is the first reconstruction of a network of proteins involved in plant secondary metabolism.     

Production and engineering of terpenoids in plant cell culture

Terpenoids are a diverse class of natural products that have many functions in the plant kingdom and in human health and nutrition. Their chemical diversity has led to the discovery of over 40,000 different structures, with several classes serving as important pharmaceutical agents, including the anticancer agents paclitaxel (Taxol) and terpenoid-derived indole alkaloids. Many terpenoid compounds are found in low yield from natural sources, so plant cell cultures have been investigated as an alternate production strategy. Metabolic engineering of whole plants and plant cell cultures is an effective tool to both increase terpenoid yield and alter terpenoid distribution for desired properties such as enhanced flavor, fragrance or color. Recent advances in defining terpenoid metabolic pathways, particularly in secondary metabolism, enhanced knowledge concerning regulation of terpenoid accumulation, and application of emerging plant systems biology approaches, have enabled metabolic engineering of terpenoid production. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge of terpenoid metabolism, with a special focus on production of important pharmaceutically active secondary metabolic terpenoids in plant cell cultures. Strategies for defining pathways and uncovering rate-influencing steps in global metabolism, and applying this information for successful terpenoid metabolic engineering, are emphasized.     

Rosmarinic acid and its derivatives: biotechnology and applications

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is one of the first secondary metabolites produced in plant cell cultures in extremely high yields, up to 19% of the cell dry weight. More complex derivatives of RA, such as rabdosiin and lithospermic acid B, later were also obtained in cell cultures at high yields. RA and its derivatives possess promising biological activities, such as improvement of cognitive performance, prevention of the development of Alzheimer's disease, cardioprotective effects, reduction of the severity of kidney diseases and cancer chemoprevention. The TNF-α-induced NF-κB signaling pathway has emerged as a central target for RA. Despite these impressive activities and high yields, the biotechnological production of these metabolites on an industrial scale has not progressed. We summarized data suggesting that external stimuli, the Ca(2+)-dependent NADPH oxidase pathway and processes of protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation are involved in the regulation of biosynthesis of these substances in cultured plant cells. In spite of growing information about pathways regulating biosynthesis of RA and its derivatives in cultured plant cells, the exact mechanism of regulation remains unknown. We suggest that further progress in the biotechnology of RA and its derivatives can be achieved by using new high-throughput techniques.     

Developmental regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy plants and tissue cultures

Summary Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) contains a number of pharmaceutically important alkaloids of the benzylisoquinoline type including morphine, codeine, papaverine, and sanguinarine. Although these alkaloids accumulate to high concentrations in various organs of the intact plant, only the phytoalexin sanguinarine has been found at significant levels in opium poppy cell cultures. Moreover, even sanguinarine biosynthesis is not constitutive in poppy cell suspension cultures, but is typically induced only after treatment with a funga-derived elicitor. The absence of appreciable quantities of alkaloids in dedifferentiated opium poppy cell cultures suggests that benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis is developmentally regulated and requires the differentiation of specific tissues. In the 40 yr since opium poppy tissues were first culturedin vitro, a number of reports on the redifferentiation of roots and buds from callus have appeared. A requirement for the presence of specialized laticifer cells has been suggested before certain alkaloids, such as morphine and codeine, can accumulate. Laticifers represent a complex internal secretory system in about 15 plant families and appear to have multiple evolutionary origins. Opium poppy laticifers differentiate from procambial cells and undergo articulation and anastomosis to form a continuous network of elements associated with the phloem throughout much of the intact plant. Latex is the combined cytoplasm of fused laticifer vessels, and contains numerous large alkaloid vesicles in which latex-associated poppy alkaloids are sequestered. The formation of alkaloid vesicles, the subcellular compartmentation of alkaloid biosynthesis, and the tissue-specific localization and control of these processes are important unresolved problems in plant cell biology. Alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy is an excellent model system to investigate the developmental regulation and cell biology of complex metabolic pathways, and the relationship between metabolic regulation and cell-type specific differentiation. In this review, we summarize the literature on the roles of cellular differentiation and plant development in alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy plants and tissue cultures.     

Rosmarinic acid and its derivatives: biotechnology and applications

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is one of the first secondary metabolites produced in plant cell cultures in extremely high yields, up to 19% of the cell dry weight. More complex derivatives of RA, such as rabdosiin and lithospermic acid B, later were also obtained in cell cultures at high yields. RA and its derivatives possess promising biological activities, such as improvement of cognitive performance, prevention of the development of Alzheimer’s disease, cardioprotective effects, reduction of the severity of kidney diseases and cancer chemoprevention. The TNF-α-induced NF-κB signaling pathway has emerged as a central target for RA. Despite these impressive activities and high yields, the biotechnological production of these metabolites on an industrial scale has not progressed. We summarized data suggesting that external stimuli, the Ca²⁺-dependent NADPH oxidase pathway and processes of protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation are involved in the regulation of biosynthesis of these substances in cultured plant cells. In spite of growing information about pathways regulating biosynthesis of RA and its derivatives in cultured plant cells, the exact mechanism of regulation remains unknown. We suggest that further progress in the biotechnology of RA and its derivatives can be achieved by using new high-throughput techniques.     

Plant secondary metabolism glycosyltransferases: the emerging functional analysis

Glycosylation is a widespread modification of plant secondary metabolites. It is involved in various functions, including the regulation of hormone homeostasis, the detoxification of xenobiotics and the biosynthesis and storage of secondary compounds. In plants, these reactions are controlled by a specific subclass of the ubiquitous glycosyltransferase family. Although these enzymes have been studied intensively for many years, to date only a handful have been characterized in planta. Plant genome projects have uncovered unsuspected complexity within this family that is hindering the characterization of single genes. However, genome information also paves the way for the development of functional genomic approaches. Here, we highlight recent progress and the outcomes of novel strategies developed to uncover the physiological roles of these glycosyltransferases.     

Nitric oxide elicitation for secondary metabolite production in cultured plant cells

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signal molecule in stress responses. Accumulation of secondary metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. NO has been reported to play important roles in elicitor-induced secondary metabolite production in tissue and cell cultures of medicinal plants. Better understanding of NO role in the biosynthesis of such metabolites is very important for optimizing the commercial production of those pharmaceutically significant secondary metabolites. This paper summarizes progress made on several aspects of NO signal leading to the production of plant secondary metabolites, including various abiotic and biotic elicitors that induce NO production, elicitor-triggered NO generation cascades, the impact of NO on growth development and programmed cell death in medicinal plants, and NO-mediated regulation of the biosynthetic pathways of such metabolites. Cross-talks among NO signaling and reactive oxygen species, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid are discussed. Some perspectives on the application of NO donors for induction of the secondary metabolite accumulation in plant cultures are also presented.     

Hairy Root and Its Application in Plant Genetic Engineering

Agrobacterium rhizogenes Conn. causes hairy root disease In plants. Hairy root-Infected A. rhizogenes Is characterlzed by a high growth rate and genetic stability. Hairy root cultures have been proven to be an efficient means of producing secondary metabolites that are normally biosyntheslzed In roots of differentiated plants. Furthermore, a transgenlc root system offers tremendous potential for introducing additional genes along with the RI plasmld, especially with modified genes, into medicinal plant cells with A. rhizogenes vector systems. The cultures have turned out to be a valuable tool with which to study the biochemical properties and the gene expression profile of metabolic pathways. Moreover, the cultures can be used to elucidate the Intermediates and key enzymes Involved In the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The present article discusses various appllcations of hairy root cultures in plant genetic engineering and potential problems aseoclsted with them.     

Mutations of the secondary cell wall

It has not been possible to isolate a number of crucial enzymes involved in plant cell wall synthesis. Recent progress in identifying some of these steps has been overcome by the isolation of mutants defective in various aspects of cell wall synthesis and the use of these mutants to identify the corresponding genes. Secondary cell walls offer numerous advantages for genetic analysis of plant cell walls. It is possible to recover very severe mutants since the plants remain viable. In addition, although variation in secondary cell wall composition occurs between different species and between different cell types, the composition of the walls is relatively simple compared to primary cell walls. Despite these advantages, relatively few secondary cell wall mutations have been described to date. The only secondary cell wall mutations characterised to date, in which the basis of the abnormality is known, have defects in either the control of secondary cell wall deposition or secondary cell wall cellulose or lignin biosynthesis. These mutants have, however, provided essential information on secondary cell wall biosynthesis.     

Sub-lethal levels of electric current elicit the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites

Many secondary metabolites that are normally undetectable or in low amounts in healthy plant tissue are synthesized in high amounts in response to microbial infection. Various abiotic and biotic agents have been shown to mimic microorganisms and act as elicitors of the synthesis of these plant compounds. In the present study, sub-lethal levels of electric current are shown to elicit the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in transgenic and non-transgenic plant tissue. The production of the phytoalexin (+)-pisatin by pea was used as the main model system. Non-transgenic pea hairy roots treated with 30-100 mA of electric current produced 13 times higher amounts of (+)-pisatin than did the non-elicited controls. Electrically elicited transgenic pea hairy root cultures blocked at various enzymatic steps in the (+)-pisatin biosynthetic pathway also accumulated intermediates preceding the blocked enzymatic step. Secondary metabolites not usually produced by pea accumulated in some of the transgenic root cultures after electric elicitation due to the diversion of the intermediates into new pathways. The amount of pisatin in the medium bathing the roots of electro-elicited roots of hydroponically cultivated pea plants was 10 times higher 24 h after elicitation than in the medium surrounding the roots of non-elicited control plants, showing not only that the electric current elicited (+)-pisatin biosynthesis but also that the (+)-pisatin was released from the roots. Seedlings, intact roots or cell suspension cultures of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), barrel medic, (Medicago truncatula), Arabidopsis thaliana, red clover (Trifolium pratense) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) also produced increased levels of secondary metabolites in response to electro-elicitation. On the basis of our results, electric current would appear to be a general elicitor of plant secondary metabolites and to have potential for application in both basic and commercial research.     

Interaction between abscisic acid and nitric oxide in PB90‐induced catharanthine biosynthesis of catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures

Elicitations are considered to be an important strategy to improve production of secondary metabolites of plant cell cultures. However, mechanisms responsible for the elicitor‐induced production of secondary metabolites of plant cells have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we report that treatment of Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures with PB90, a protein elicitor from Phytophthora boehmeriae, induced rapid increases of abscisic acid (ABA) and nitric oxide (NO), subsequently followed by the enhancement of catharanthine production and up‐regulation of Str and Tdc, two important genes in catharanthine biosynthesis. PB90‐induced catharanthine production and the gene expression were suppressed by the ABA inhibitor and NO scavenger respectively, showing that ABA and NO are essential for the elicitor‐induced catharanthine biosynthesis. The relationship between ABA and NO in mediating catharanthine biosynthesis was further investigated. Treatment of the cells with ABA triggered NO accumulation and induced catharanthine production and up‐regulation of Str and Tdc. ABA‐induced catharanthine production and gene expressions were suppressed by the NO scavenger. Conversely, exogenous application of NO did not stimulate ABA generation and treatment with ABA inhibitor did not suppress NO‐induced catharanthine production and gene expressions. Together, the results showed that both NO and ABA were involved in PB90‐induced catharanthine biosynthesis of C. roseus cells. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that ABA acted upstream of NO in the signaling cascade leading to PB90‐induced catharanthine biosynthesis of C. roseus cells. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:994–1001, 2013     

中国丝状真菌次级代谢分子调控研究进展

在目前已知的具有生物活性的微生物次级代谢物中约有50%是由丝状真菌产生的,其中包括人们所熟知的青霉素、环孢菌素A以及洛伐他汀等。鉴于丝状真菌次级代谢物在农业、医药和工业上的重要价值,它们的生物合成及其分子调控一直备受关注。丝状真菌次级代谢物的生物合成是一个复杂的过程,一般涉及多步酶学反应,该过程往往受到不同水平的调控。深入了解丝状真菌次级代谢的分子调控机制,可以为其产量的提高、新骨架化合物的发掘以及隐性次级代谢物的激活奠定重要的理论基础。本文以丝状真菌次级代谢分子调控为主线,重点介绍近40年来我国科研工作者在该领域取得的研究进展,并对这一领域未来的发展进行展望。     

植物芪类合成途径相关酶、基因和调控机制研究进展

植物芪类化合物,是一类具有抗菌植保作用的次生代谢产物,因具有抑菌、抗氧化、抗肿瘤等多种生物活性而越来越受到重视。本文对植物芪类生物合成途径中涉及到的相关酶、基因和代谢调控机制的研究现状和应用系统生物学研究芪类生物合成途径的相关酶、基因的方法进行综述,并讨论了芪类生物合成相关酶、基因研究的重要意义和应用,以期为调节芪类产量、满足药用保健需求及植物防御、作物品质改良提供帮助。     

Production of Plant Bioactive Triterpenoid Saponins: Elicitation Strategies and Target Genes to Improve Yields

Triterpenoid saponins are a class of plant secondary metabolites with structure derived from the precursor oxidosqualene in which one or more sugar residues are added. They have a wide range of pharmacological applications, such as antiplatelet, hypocholesterolemic, antitumoral, anti-HIV, immunoadjuvant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, insecticide, fungicide and anti-leishmanial agents. Their accumulation in plant cells is stimulated in response to changes mediated by biotic and abiotic elicitors. The enhancement of saponin yields by methyl jasmonate in plants and cell cultures in several species indicates the involvement of these metabolites in plant defence mechanisms. The elucidation of their biosynthesis at the molecular level has advanced recently. Most studies to date have focused on the participation of early enzymes in the pathway, including oxidosqualene cyclase, squalene synthase and dammarenediol synthase, as well as in isolating and characterizing genes that encode β-amyrin synthase. Yields of bioactive saponins in various plant species and experimental systems have been successfully increased by treating cells and tissues with jasmonate or by exposing these to oxidative stress. These elicitation and molecular studies are consolidating a robust knowledge platform from which to launch the development of improved sources for commercial supply of bioactive saponins.