Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Cell Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 14075

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and agro-environment, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, PI, Italy
Interests: plant physiology and biochemistry; abiotic stress; tissue culture; hairy roots; bioactive compounds; medicinal plants; food quality; in vitro secondary metabolites production; antioxidants
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Guest Editor
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: plant cell tissue and organ culture; medicinal and aromatic plants; conservation; secondary metabolites production; pharmacognosy; plant physiology; plant growth regulators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: cell biology; tissue culture; micropropagation; germoplasm conservation; food quality; secondary metabolites; nutraceutical compounds; plant physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Plants will jointly be publishing a Special Issue on “Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolite Production II”.

Plant cell tissue and organ culture is an irreplaceable fundamental technique, supplementary to conventional plant breeding, for optimized large-scale clonal propagation, germplasm conservation, somatic embryogenesis, and plantlet disease elimination. In addition to these applications, in recent decades, this technique has been intensively utilized for plants that are important from a phytochemical point of view for the biotechnological delivery of pharmacologically relevant secondary metabolites. The latter is of exceptional importance for species which are threatened in their indigenous habitats. Thus, the use of in vitro culture is a sustainable additive approach to traditional methods of propagation. Furthermore, in vitro culture represents a good method to develop the controlled production of valuable natural metabolites in controlled laboratory conditions without affecting plants’ natural habitats.

This Special Issue aims to conjugate the various aspects of plant cell tissue and organ culture with a special accent on the production of phytochemical compounds, valuable due to their therapeutic—e.g., antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory—properties.

Secondary metabolites play a key role in the diverse defense mechanisms of the plant organism in response to environmental stimuli such as climatic fluctuations, pathogenic organisms, predatory herbivores, as well as competing plants. Therefore, by providing the opportunity of the controlled modification of environmental conditions, in vitro culture is a well manageable experimental system, able to be utilized as a source of secondary metabolite delivery for industrial application, as well as for food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical purposes.

This Special Issue will highlight the modern use of different plant cell tissue and organ culture approaches for the successful production of plant secondary metabolites, especially those with high economic added value.

Dr. Laura Pistelli
Dr. Kalina Danova
Dr. Ilaria Marchioni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • clonal propagation
  • adventitious regeneration/somatic embryogenesis
  • disease-free plant production
  • production of phytochemicals by in vitro cultures
  • bioactive compounds
  • virus-free plants
  • cell suspension culture
  • hairy root culture
  • biopesticides
  • bioreactor

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 195 KiB  
Editorial
Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolite Production Volume II
by Kalina Danova, Ilaria Marchioni and Laura Pistelli
Plants 2023, 12(22), 3862; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12223862 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 761
Abstract
Secondary metabolites play a key role in the communication of the plant organism with the everchanging biotic and abiotic stimuli of its versatile environment [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 3922 KiB  
Article
Plant Growth Regulators and Activated Charcoal Selectively Affect Phenylethanoid and Flavone Glycoside Accumulation in Sideritis scardica Griseb. Tissue Culture
by Kalina Danova, Jasmina Petreska Stanoeva, Ina Aneva, Kalina Alipieva and Marina Stefova
Plants 2023, 12(13), 2541; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12132541 - 4 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Sideritis scardica Griseb. is a Balkan endemic species traditionally used for the treatment of pulmonary emphysema and angina pectoris. Recent research has also shown its phytotherapeutic potential as an anticancer and neuroprotective agent. These findings, as well as the endangered status of the [...] Read more.
Sideritis scardica Griseb. is a Balkan endemic species traditionally used for the treatment of pulmonary emphysema and angina pectoris. Recent research has also shown its phytotherapeutic potential as an anticancer and neuroprotective agent. These findings, as well as the endangered status of the species in its wild habitats, have motivated the present research on application of plant cell tissue and organ culture for the purposes of both valuable germplasm conservation and secondary metabolites production. Shoot cultures of the plant were initiated from sterile germinated seeds and the effects of activated charcoal (AC), as well benzyl adenine and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid treatments, were experimented. The phenolic profile analysis was performed by HPLC/DAD/MSn. Comparison with samples collected from wild plants in their natural habitat was performed. It was established that in vitro multiplication induced by plant growth regulators (PGRs) was accompanied by a higher impairment of leaf morphology and trichome formation, as well as by the occurrence of plantlet hyperhydricity and callus formation, as compared with the AC treatments. Shoot culture-derived plant material was shown to produce two phenylethanoids and five flavone glycosides, not detected in the wild collected plant material. In addition, the two types of in vitro culture treatments led to the stimulation of either flavone glycosides or phenylethanoids in the in vitro cultivated plants. Thus, AC stimulated, to a higher extent, flavone glycosides’ accumulation, leading to an elevated flavone/phenylethanoid ratio, as compared with PGR treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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23 pages, 3092 KiB  
Article
Effect of Inoculum Size and Age, and Sucrose Concentration on Cell Growth to Promote Metabolites Production in Cultured Taraxacum officinale (Weber) Cells
by María Eugenia Martínez, Lorena Jorquera, Paola Poirrier, Katy Díaz and Rolando Chamy
Plants 2023, 12(5), 1116; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051116 - 2 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2385
Abstract
Pentacyclic triterpenes, including lupeol, α- amyrin, and β-amyrin, present a large range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and gastroprotective properties. The phytochemistry of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) tissues has been widely described. Plant biotechnology offers an alternative for secondary metabolite production [...] Read more.
Pentacyclic triterpenes, including lupeol, α- amyrin, and β-amyrin, present a large range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and gastroprotective properties. The phytochemistry of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) tissues has been widely described. Plant biotechnology offers an alternative for secondary metabolite production and several active plant ingredients are already synthesized through in vitro cultures. This study aimed to establish a suitable protocol for cell growth and to determine the accumulation of α-amyrin and lupeol in cell suspension cultures of T. officinale under different culture conditions. To this end, inoculum density (0.2% to 8% (w/v)), inoculum age (2- to 10-week-old), and carbon source concentration (1%, 2.3%, 3.2%, and 5.5% (w/v)) were investigated. Hypocotyl explants of T. officinale were used for callus induction. Age, size, and sucrose concentrations were statistically significant in cell growth (fresh and dry weight), cell quality (aggregation, differentiation, viability), and triterpenes yield. The best conditions for establishing a suspension culture were achieved by using a 6-week-old callus at 4% (w/v) and 1% (w/v) of sucrose concentration. Results indicate that 0.04 (±0.02) α-amyrin and 0.03 (±0.01) mg/g lupeol can be obtained in suspension culture under these starting conditions at the 8th week of culture. The results of the present study provide a backdrop for future studies in which an elicitor could be incorporated to increase the large-scale production of α-amyrin and lupeol from T. officinale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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23 pages, 4852 KiB  
Article
Evolutionary Aspects of Hypericin Productivity and Endogenous Phytohormone Pools Evidenced in Hypericum Species In Vitro Culture Model
by Kalina Danova, Vaclav Motyka, Antoaneta Trendafilova, Petre I. Dobrev, Viktorya Ivanova and Ina Aneva
Plants 2022, 11(20), 2753; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11202753 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1626
Abstract
Shoot cultures of hypericin non-producing H. calycinum L. (primitive Ascyreia section), hypericin-producing H. perforatum L., H. tetrapterum Fries (section Hypericum) and H. richeri Vill. (the evolutionarily most advanced section Drosocarpium in our study) were developed and investigated for their growth, development, hypericin [...] Read more.
Shoot cultures of hypericin non-producing H. calycinum L. (primitive Ascyreia section), hypericin-producing H. perforatum L., H. tetrapterum Fries (section Hypericum) and H. richeri Vill. (the evolutionarily most advanced section Drosocarpium in our study) were developed and investigated for their growth, development, hypericin content and endogenous phytohormone levels. Hypericins in wild-growing H. richeri significantly exceeded those in H. perforatum and H. tetrapterum. H. richeri also had the highest hypericin productivity in vitro in medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/L N6-benzyladenine and 0.1 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid and H. tetrapterum—the lowest one in all media modifications. In shoot culture conditions, the evolutionarily oldest H. calycinum had the highest content of salicylic acid and total jasmonates in some of its treatments, as well as dominance of the storage form of abscisic acid (ABA-glucose ester) and lowest cytokinin ribosides and cytokinin O-glucosides as compared with the other three species. In addition, the evolutionarily youngest H. richeri was characterized by the highest total amount of cytokinin ribosides. Thus, both evolutionary development and the hypericin production capacity seemed to interact closely with the physiological parameters of the plant organism, such as endogenous phytohormones, leading to the possible hypothesis that hypericin productivity may have arisen in the evolution of Hypericum as a means to adapt to environmental changes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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12 pages, 1852 KiB  
Article
Effects of LED Light Spectra on the Development, Phytochemical Profile, and Antioxidant Activity of Curcuma longa from Easter Island
by María José Marchant, Paula Molina, Miriam Montecinos, Leda Guzmán, Cristóbal Balada and Mónica Castro
Plants 2022, 11(20), 2701; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11202701 - 13 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1466
Abstract
Curcuma longa (C. longa), an herbaceous plant used for medicinal purposes by the indigenous people of Easter Island, has been overexploited in its natural habitat, leading to its conservation status being designated as a vulnerable species. We have recently reported on [...] Read more.
Curcuma longa (C. longa), an herbaceous plant used for medicinal purposes by the indigenous people of Easter Island, has been overexploited in its natural habitat, leading to its conservation status being designated as a vulnerable species. We have recently reported on the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to improve the productivity of C. longa in vitro cultures under a temporary immersion system (TIS), but the effects of light quality on plant growth, phytochemical composition, and antioxidant capacity remained unexplored. Here, we set out to study these three aspects as observed at the end of TIS culture (day 0) and after 30 days of greenhouse acclimation (day 30). Thus, we evaluated plant morphological characteristics, phytochemical profile (polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, reducing sugars, and curcumin), and radical scavenging activity by DPPH, ORAC, and FRAP assays. The results showed that, during in vitro cultivation under TIS, the red:blue (RB) LED light spectrum promoted C. longa shoot proliferation, with the resulting seedlings exhibiting greater fresh weight and no signs of etiolation. In the acclimation phase, the RB spectrum increased phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and reducing sugars, and boosted curcumin synthesis. Nevertheless, the antioxidant activity of the plants under the RB light spectrum did not intensify. We surmise that this may be due to the premature intraplant allocation of metabolites to alternative pathways (e.g., curcumin synthesis) under RB light. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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18 pages, 3383 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni In Vitro Propagation and Steviol Glycoside Content Using Aminoacid Silver Nanofibers
by Mariana Sichanova, Maria Geneva, Maria Petrova, Kameliya Miladinova-Georgieva, Elisaveta Kirova, Trendafil Nedev, Daniela Tsekova, Iwan Iwanov, Konstantin Dochev, Viktoria Ivanova and Antoaneta Trendafilova
Plants 2022, 11(19), 2468; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192468 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2134
Abstract
The food industry is interested in replacing artificial sweeteners with natural sugars that possess zero calories and carbohydrates and do not cause spikes in blood sugar levels. The steviosides leaves, synthesized at Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, are 300 times sweeter than common table sugar. [...] Read more.
The food industry is interested in replacing artificial sweeteners with natural sugars that possess zero calories and carbohydrates and do not cause spikes in blood sugar levels. The steviosides leaves, synthesized at Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, are 300 times sweeter than common table sugar. Stevia propagation is limited due to the poor viability of the seeds, the long time and low germination rate, and the poor rooting ability of vegetative cuttings. Because of this, an alternative biotechnological method for its reproduction is being studied, such as multiple shoot production through direct organogenesis using nanofibers, formed from a derivative of amino acid valine as a carrier of the biologically active agent silver atoms/particles (NF-1%Ag and NF-2%Ag). The stevia explants were cultured on a medium containing NF-1%Ag and NF-2%Ag at concentrations of 1, 10, 50, and 100 mg L−1. The NF-1%Ag and NF-2%Ag treatment caused hormetic effects on stevia plantlets. At low concentrations of from 1 to 50 mg L−1 of nanofibers, the stimulation of plant growth was observed, with the maximum effect being observed at 50 mg L−1 nanofibers. However, at the higher dose of 100 mg L−1, inhibition of the values of parameters characterizing plant growth was recorded. The presence of nanofibers in the medium stimulates stevia root formatting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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20 pages, 2445 KiB  
Article
Callus-Mediated High-Frequency Plant Regeneration, Phytochemical Profiling, Antioxidant Activity and Genetic Stability in Ruta chalepensis L.
by Ahmed A. Qahtan, Mohammad Faisal, Abdulrahman A. Alatar and Eslam M. Abdel-Salam
Plants 2022, 11(12), 1614; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11121614 - 20 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2629
Abstract
Efficient methods for callus induction and the high-frequency plant regeneration of Ruta chalepensis L. were established, and the phytochemical potential and antioxidant activity of a donor plant, ex-vitro-established micropropagated plants, and callus were also studied. Yellowish-green callus was induced with a frequency of [...] Read more.
Efficient methods for callus induction and the high-frequency plant regeneration of Ruta chalepensis L. were established, and the phytochemical potential and antioxidant activity of a donor plant, ex-vitro-established micropropagated plants, and callus were also studied. Yellowish-green callus was induced with a frequency of 97.8% from internode shoot segments of the donor plant growing in soil in the botanical garden cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 10 μM 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 1 μM BA (6-benzyladenine). Adventitious shoots were regenerated from the yellowish-green callus on MS medium containing 5.0 μM (BA) and 1.0 μM 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), with a regeneration frequency of 98.4% and a maximum of 54.6 shoots with an average length of 4.5 cm after 8 weeks. The regenerated shoots were rooted in a medium containing 1.0 μM IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) and successfully transferred to ex vitro conditions in pots containing normal garden soil, with a 95% survival rate. The amounts of alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and antioxidant activity of the ex-vitro-established micropropagated plants were higher than in the donor plant and callus. The highest contents of hesperidin and rutin (93.3 and 55.9 µg/mg, respectively) were found in the ex-vitro-established micropropagated plants compared to those obtained from the donor plant (91.4 and 31.0 µg/mg, respectively) and callus (59.1 and 21.6 µg/mg, respectively). The genetic uniformity of the ex-vitro-established micropropagated plants was appraised by the ISSR markers and compared with the donor plant. This is the first report describing the callus-mediated plant regeneration, as well as the production of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities in R. chalepensis, which might be a potential alternative technique for the mass propagation and synthesis of bioactive compounds such as hesperidin and rutin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production II)
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