Engineering of Biomass Accumulation and Secondary Metabolite Production in Plant Cell and Tissue Cultures

Abstract

Plants are the source of valuable secondary metabolites that are commonly used in pharmaceutical, food, agricultural, cosmetic, and textile industries. The increasing commercial importance of secondary metabolites has resulted in a great interest in research focusing on secondary metabolism and finding alternative ways for secondary metabolite production. Plant cell and tissue cultures are branches of plant biotechnology and they have been introduced as alternative ways for the production of valuable secondary metabolites. Plant technology provides a continuous and reliable source for pharmaceutical phytochemicals and can easily be scaled up. Therefore, plant cell and tissue cultures have a great potential to be used as an alternative to traditional agriculture for the industrial production of secondary metabolites. In this chapter, current techniques used for enhancing biomass accumulation and secondary metabolite production are discussed. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.