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Improved effects of polyethylene glycol on the growth, antioxidative enzymes activity and taxanes production in a Taxus baccata L. callus culture

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Abstract

Application of abiotic stress-inducing elicitors is one of the effective strategies in order to increase the production of secondary metabolites in plant tissues. Here, the effect of in vitro polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress on morphological and biochemical changes as well as the production of paclitaxel and 10-deacetyl baccatin III in a Taxus baccata callus culture was investigated. The results showed that increased PEG concentration in the culture medium enhanced the levels of H2O2 and the membrane lipid peroxidation in the calli. The activity of catalase and guaiacol peroxidase as antioxidant responses were increased significantly in all PEG concentrations. At 6% of PEG concentration, the levels of fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) in the calli were declined significantly by dropping in the amount of water content in the calli and rising the level of oxidative stress, and the morphological changes occurred following the increased browning index of the calli. However, the PEG at low to moderate concentrations reduced the accumulation and oxidation of phenolic compounds in the calli through the absorption of phenolic compounds and the reduction in the activity of the polyphenol oxidase. As a result, improved growth and viability of the calli resulted in the enhanced levels of FW and DW at the concentrations of 1% up to 3% (w/v) PEG. The highest contents of 10-deacetyl baccatin III and taxol were obtained at concentrations of 2% and 3% PEG, respectively. The concentration of 3% PEG increased the production of taxol by 2.5 times more than the control. In conclusion, PEG can be proposed as an effective elicitor in the production of taxanes in the Taxus cell and tissue cultures.

Key message

  • Physio-biochemical and metabolic responses of a Taxus baccata callus culture treated with PEG were reported for the first time.

  • The antioxidant responses were increased significantly in the PEG-treated callus culture.

  • The concentration of 3% PEG increased the production of taxol by 2.5 times more than the control.

  • PEG can be proposed as an effective elicitor in the production of taxanes in the Taxus cell cultures.

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Abbreviations

SMs:

Secondary metabolites

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

10-DBA:

10-Deacetyl baccatin III

CAT:

Catalase

GPX:

Guaiacol peroxidase

PPO:

Polyphenol oxidase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

PCTOC:

Plant cell, tissue and organ culture

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyacse

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

CRD:

Completely randomized design

FW:

Fresh weight

DW:

Dry weight

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PVP:

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

MeJ:

Methyl jasmonate

SA:

Salicylic acid

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their appreciation to the Research Council of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran and the University of Barcelona, Spain for their financial support. We also wish to thank Miss. Zahra Aminfar and Mr. Hamid Ahadi for their kind help in data collection and taxane analysis, respectively. This work is part of Marziyeh Sarmadi PhD’s thesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

    Marziyeh Sarmadi & Naser Karimi

  2. Laboratori de Fisiologia Vegetal, Facultat de Farmacia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII sn, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Javier Palazón

  3. Department of Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Ghassempour

  4. Department of Agriculture, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili

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  1. Marziyeh Sarmadi
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  2. Naser Karimi
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  3. Javier Palazón
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  4. Alireza Ghassempour
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  5. Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili
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Contributions

MS contributed to the conception of the study, in vitro cultures establishment, data extraction statistical analysis, and writing of the manuscript. NK supervised the study and revised the manuscript. AG carried out the analysis of taxanes. JP hosted MS at the University of Barcelona for a short research stay and carried biochemical analysis and revised the manuscript as well. MHM supervised the whole experiments and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Naser Karimi or Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili.

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Sarmadi, M., Karimi, N., Palazón, J. et al. Improved effects of polyethylene glycol on the growth, antioxidative enzymes activity and taxanes production in a Taxus baccata L. callus culture. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 137, 319–328 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-019-01573-y

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