Molecular Biology of Plant Pathways / Engineering Formation of Medicinal Compounds in Cell Cultures
Summary
Many secondary metabolites that have been isolated from higher plants are used
as important natural resources for pharmaceuticals. Since plant cells have high
totipotency, empirical trials to produce these secondary metabolites in
In vitro cell and/or tissue culture have been carried out. Over the past 30 years, studies
of these cell culture systems have provided a basis for understanding the
basic mechanism of biosynthesis, whereas practical applications are still limited
due to relatively low productivity. Recent advances in molecular biology in
plant sciences, for example, the comprehensive analysis of expressed genes in
biosynthesis-specialized cells and integrated analyses of expression profiles, as
well as the development of metabolic profiling analysis, have also considerably
stimulated the development of metabolic engineering in plants, even in secondary
metabolism. The identification of many biosynthetic genes and the characterization
of the spatial and developmental regulation of their expression have clarified their
importance in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and revealed bottlenecks
for their production in cell culture. The molecular engineering of secondary metabolites
may lead to a new era for the production of medicinal compounds in cell/
tissue cultures as well as in transgenic plants to improve the production and quality
of metabolites. The forthcoming decades should be an exciting time for basic and
applied sciences regarding secondary metabolite production in plant cells.