Cell growth and nutrient uptake by cell suspensions of Cupressus lusitanica

Abstract

Conditions for cell growth of suspension cultures of Cupressus lusitanica, which has high β-thujaplicin productivity, were studied. The medium that provided the highest growth rate was IS-1 medium (pH 5.5), modified from Gamborg B5 medium containing 32mM of total nitrogen. Its NO3-N/ NH4-N ratio was 30:2. The maximum growth represented a 25-fold increase over the initial biomass on a fresh weight basis after 30 days of culture in this medium. The highest cell growth was obtained with an initial pH of 3.5-5.5, but the pH of the medium settled to about pH 4.0 from any of the initial pH values in this report. The cells cultured under this condition were able to produce a high level of β-thujaplicin.