Stimulation of taxane production in suspension cultures of Taxus yunnanensis by oligogalacturonides

When Taxus yunnanensis cells of 12-day-old cultures were exposed to oligogalacturonide (OGA) at 2080 mu g ml(-1) for 3 days, it was found that paclitaxel and 10-deacetyl baccatin III (10-DAB III) content peaked at 23 and 24 mu g g(-1) dry wt, respectively. OGA treatment increased taxane release percentage ( extracellular release ratio) from 10 to 90%. The maximum production of paclitaxel and 10-DAB III in cultures elicited with OGA at 40 mu g ml(-1) was demonstrated to be 0.5 and 1.0 mg l(-1), a 3.6 and 3.4-fold that of the control. This is the first report on the stimulation of taxoid production by OGA.