Cultured cambial meristematic cells as a source of plant natural products.
A plethora of important, chemically diverse natural products are derived from plants. In principle, plant cell culture offers an attractive option for producing many of these compounds. However, it is often not commercially viable because of difficulties associated with culturing dedifferentiated plant cells (DDCs) on an industrial scale. To bypass the dedifferentiation step, we isolated and cultured innately undifferentiated cambial meristematic cells (CMCs). Using a combination of deep sequencing technologies, we identified marker genes and transcriptional programs consistent with a stem cell identity. This notion was further supported by the morphology of CMCs, their hypersensitivity to γ-irradiation and radiomimetic drugs and their ability to differentiate at high frequency. Suspension culture of CMCs derived from Taxus cuspidata, the source of the key anticancer drug, paclitaxel (Taxol), circumvented obstacles routinely associated with the commercial growth of DDCs. These cells may provide a cost-effective and environmentally friendly platform for sustainable production of a variety of important plant natural products.
Unhwa Corp., Wooah-Dong, Dukjin-gu, Jeonju, South Korea.
Eun-Kyong
EK
Lee
Young-Woo
YW
Jin
Joong Hyun
JH
Park
Young Mi
YM
Yoo
Sun Mi
SM
Hong
Rabia
R
Amir
Zejun
Z
Yan
Eunjung
E
Kwon
Alistair
A
Elfick
Simon
S
Tomlinson
Florian
F
Halbritter
Thomas
T
Waibel
Byung-Wook
BW
Yun
Gary J
GJ
Loake
D001688:Biological Products / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019149:Bioreactors; D058506:Cambium / Q000166:cytology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020946:Taxus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D001688:Biological Products