Cellular aggregation in secondary metabolite production in in vitro plant cell cultures

Plant cell culture represents a biotechnological alternative to direct extraction of, whole plant for production of secondary metabolites. However the productivity of in vitro systems is lower than that obtained,from plants. This, review illustratates cell differentiation and compartmentalization as necessary events for the biosynthesis of chemical compounds. The induction of in vitro cell aggregation is discussed as one of the strategies to stimulate the accumulation of the compounds of interest. This positive effect might be explained as a consequence of the development of morphogenic structures and/or a stress condition induced by oxygen limitation in the interior of the aggregates. Finally, it is shown that the combination of aggregation with other strategies such as selection of cell lines, elicitation or precursor addition constitutes an alternative for the development of bioprocesses based on plant cell cultures for the production of high value chemical compounds.