Biosynthesis of secondary products by cell cultures of higher plants

Abstract

Biosynthetic studies of alkaloids, phenols and terpenes utilizing plant cell culture techniques have been reviewed from literature dating mainly from 1980. Many of the research papers deal with the investigations into the alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus but there are a number of significant publications in other areas of alkaloid biosynthesis, viz. other indole alkaloids, isoquinolines and quinolizidines. Flavonoid biosynthesis continues to be an active area of research in which much use has been made of plant cell cultures. Individual steps in secondary product biosynthesis tend to be the focus of attention with particular emphasis on the isolation and characterization of the enzymes involved. The use of plant cell culture for biosynthetic studies has been greatly enhanced by the development of sensitive analytical techniques.