Growth patterns and alkaloid accumulation in hairy root and untransformed root cultures of Datura stramonium

The aim of this work was to study the possible relationship between alkaloid production and growth measured as: biomass increase and cellular division frequency, in Datura stramonium in vitro root cultures (hairy root and normal cultures). A comparison of growth values on a fresh and dry weight basis showed that there were differences between transformed and non-transformed lines. The differential growth between lines occurred due to a real biomass increase and not because of water accumulation. On the other hand, the rate of cell division showed a similar pattern for all lines studied. Therefore, the differences in growth are not due to different cell division rates, nor to the presence of larger meristems, but to the development and growth of lateral roots and the presence of active intercalary meristematic zones in each line. The maximum alkaloid production occurred when the cultures were not growing. This suggests an inverse relationship. Finally, the data support a specific model of growth at the level of cell division in root cultures which has not been described before in the literature. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.