Establishment and triterpenoid production ofOcimum basilicumcambial meristematic cells

Key message For the first time, cambial meristematic cells ofOcimum basilicumwere established and cultivated in a disposable bioreactor system. These cells outperform dedifferentiated cells of the same organism regarding productivity. The application of plant suspension culture to produce valuable compounds, such as the triterpenoids oleanolic acid and ursolic acid, is a well-established alternative to the cultivation of whole plants. Cambial meristematic cells (CMCs) are a growing field of research, often showing superior cultivation properties compared to their dedifferentiated cell (DDC) counterparts. In this work, the first-time establishment ofO. basilicumCMCs is demonstrated. DDCs and CMCs were cultivated in shake flasks and wave-mixed disposable bioreactors (wDBRs) and evaluated regarding triterpenoid productivity and biomass accumulation. CMCs showed characteristic small vacuoles and were found to be significantly smaller than DDCs. Productivities of oleanolic and ursolic acid of CMCs were determined at 3.02 +/- 0.76 mg/(l*d) and 4.79 +/- 0.48 mg/(l*d) after 19 days wDBR cultivation, respectively. These values were consistently higher than any productivities determined for DDCs over the observed cultivation period of 37 days. Elicitation with methyl jasmonate of DDCs and CMCs in shake flasks resulted in increased product contents up to 48 h after elicitor addition, with the highest increase found in CMCs at 232.30 +/- 19.33% (oleanolic acid) and 192.44 +/- 18.23% (ursolic acid) after 48 h.