Gas concentration effects on secondary metabolite production by plant cell cultures

One aspect of secondary metabolite production that has been studied relatively infrequently is the effect of gaseous compounds on plant cell behavior. The most influential gases are believed to be oxygen, carbon dioxide and other volatile hormones such as ethylene and methyl jasmonate. Organic compounds of interest include the promising antimalarial artemisinin (known as "qing hao su" in China where it has been a folk remedy for centuries) that is produced by Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood) and taxanes used for anticancer therapy that are produced by species of Taxus (yew). The suspension cultures of both species were grown under a variety of dissolved gas conditions in stoppered culture flasks and under conditions of continuous headspace flushing with known gas mixtures. An analysis is presented to show the culture conditions are such that equilibrium between the culture liquid and gas head-space is assured. The growth rate of the cells and their production rates of artemisinin and paclitaxel were determined. These and other parameters are correlated as functions of the gas concentrations. Interdependence of ethylene and methyl jasmonate is also explored with respect to regulation of secondary metabolite formation.