Oligosaccharides potentiate methyl jasmonate-induced production of paclitaxel in Taxus canadensis

The interdependence of methyl jasmonate (MJ) with chitin and chitosan derived elicitors in formation of paclitaxel was studied using plant cell suspension cultures of Taxus canadensis. Induction of paclitaxel biosynthesis was enhanced when MJ and elicitors were added 8 days after culture transfer compared to treatments in which only MJ or only elicitors were added. The enhancement of the paclitaxel biosynthesis response to MJ concentration was roughly linear between 0 and 200 mu M using colloidal chitin or oligosaccharides of chitin and chitosan as elicitors. MJ concentrations greater than 200 mu M were inhibitory. In kinetic studies, culture growth and substrate utilization were inhibited when the cultures were elicited with 100 mu M MJ and with 0.63 mg 1(-1) N-acetylchitohexaose and with 100 mu M MJ alone; paclitaxel yields were 10-fold greater under the latter condition than the former. Ethylene biosynthesis by the cell cultures in response to elicitation is implicated in regulation of the response. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.