Optimization of anthraquinone production in hairy root culture of Rubia tinctorum

PERASSOLO, M.; GIULIETTI, A.M.; RODRIGUEZ TALOU, J

Mar del Plata

Congreso; VIII Encuentro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Biotecnología REDBIO-Argentina 2013; 2013

Rubia tinctorum (Rubiaceae) produces anthraquinones (AQs), which are anthracene derivatives traditionally used as dyes in the textile industry. These secondary metabolites also exhibit interesting properties in vitro, such as antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial activities. For the production of these compounds, in vitro cultures emerge as an attractive alternative compared to extraction from their natural source. In this work, we established hairy root cultures of R. tinctorum and evaluated their performance and AQ production in 100 ml erlenmeyer flasks in two different culture media: Gamborg B5 (half-saline strength; B51/2) and Lloyd and McCown's Woody Plant Media (WPM). The effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJ) elicitation were also analyzed. Although biomass production was higher in WPM than in B51/2, intracellular AQ accumulation was enhanced in B51/2 (11.88 μmol/g after 35 days) when compared to WPM (6.44 μmol/g). Elicitation with 100 μM MeJ of 14-day-old hairy roots grown in B51/2 resulted in a drastic increase in the intracellular content of AQs when compared to control (21.0 and 8.7 μmol/g respectively, after 7 days of elicitation), as well as a massive liberation of these compounds to the culture media. These results are promising for further improving AQ yields and for scaling up the process.