Camptothecin is an anti-cancer monoterpene indole alkaloid. The gene encoding 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl 4-diphosphate reductase (designated as CaHDR), the last catalytic enzyme of the MEP pathway for terpenoid biosynthesis, was isolated from camptothecin-producing Camptotheca acuminata.

Rapid in vitro propagation of Limonium wrightii (Hance) Ktze. (Plumbaginaceae), an endangered medicinal plant, was achieved by culturing the shoot-tip (primary and lateral), leaf-and inflorescence-node explants. MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with 8.87 mM N 6 -benzyladenine (BA) and 1.07 mM a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) supported induction of adventitious shoots from the shoot-tip, inflorescence-node and middle and basal parts of leaf explants after 60 d of culture. Adventitious shoots were multiplied by subculturing on MS medium supplemented with BA (2.21-17.75 mM) in combination with NAA (1.07 mM). The percentage of explants forming shoots and the average number of adventitious shoot buds produced per explant were stimulated by increasing the strength (1/4Â, 1/2Â, 1Â, 2Â) of the MS medium. Shoots were rooted on MS basal medium with 4.92 mM indole-3-butyric acid. Plantlets with a morphologically normal appearance produced from adventitious shoots were transferred to soil and acclimated in the growth chamber for 1 mo.

No abstract

No abstract