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Large-scale insect and plant cell culture
R A Taticek1, C W Lee, M L Shuler
1School of Chemical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-5201.
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
|February 1, 1994
Summary
Advances in insect and plant cell culture scale-up are improving yields for commercial products. Researchers are optimizing nutrient and oxygen levels, and reactor design for better protein and secondary metabolite production.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Cell Culture Technology
Background:
- Insect and plant cell cultures are underutilized for commercial products due to scale-up challenges.
- Previous methods faced limitations in large-scale cultivation and maintaining high productivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address limitations in scaling up insect and plant cell expression systems.
- To improve volumetric yields and product formation in cell cultures.
Main Methods:
- Optimizing oxygen supply and nutrient concentrations for insect cell cultures post-infection.
- Re-examining large-scale plant cell culture axioms, including high cell densities and reactor design.
- Investigating nutrient supplements, medium cycling, and gas recirculation in plant cell cultures.
Main Results:
- Insect cell cultures achieved higher cell densities and maintained specific protein production, enhancing volumetric yields.
- Plant cell cultures at high densities showed altered secondary metabolism and decreased specific productivity.
- Nutrient strategies and gas recirculation improved product formation in plant cell cultures, with demonstrated in vitro production of taxol and vindoline.
Conclusions:
- Scale-up of insect and plant cell cultures shows significant promise for commercial applications.
- Further research is necessary to fully realize the potential of these systems, particularly in optimizing post-translational modifications and sustained product formation.