Cell Suspension Culture

Cell suspension culture is the growth of cells directly in a liquid medium, whether as single cells or as small aggregates of cells, and is prepared by transferring a portion of an existing callus into liquid medium and agitating it on a rotary shaker; agitation both separates cells from the callus tissue and keeps them evenly suspended and aerated as they grow. Cell suspension culture is the platform of choice for the commercial production of plant secondary metabolites - chemical compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds and recombinant proteins that a plant does not need for its own normal growth and development, but produces as byproducts of its cell metabolism. A well-known example is the biosynthesis and isolation of indole alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus cell culture. At industrial scale, secondary-metabolite production from cell suspension cultures is carried out in bio-reactors, and strategies such as biotransformation, elicitation and immobilization are used to raise how efficiently a culture produces the desired compound. Table 5.1 lists several industrially important secondary metabolites together with the plant source each is obtained from and its principal use - digoxin (a cardiac tonic from Digitalis purpuria), code …