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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #238842
Title: Effect of elicitors on the production of gossypol and methylated gossypol in cotton hairy roots

Author
item Frankfater, Cheryl
item Dowd, Michael
item Triplett, Barbara

Submitted to: Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/9/2009
Publication Date: 7/28/2009
Citation: Frankfater, C.R., Dowd, M.K., Triplett, B.A. 2009. Effect of elicitors on the production of gossypol and methylated gossypol in cotton hairy roots. Plant Cell Tissue And Organ Culture. 98:341-349.

Interpretive Summary: Techniques were developed to increase the amount of gossypol produced by tissue cultures of cotton roots. Gossypol is a natural product with a wide array of biological activity, including ani-tumor, and anti-fertility, anti-fungal and insecticidal effects. The increase was achieved by incubating the cultures in the presence of methyl jasmonate, which stimulates the culture cells to turn its internal defense mechanisms that include the production of gossypol. The techniques should be of interest to researchers studying the scaled-up isolation of gossypol and the biological activity of natural products.

Technical Abstract: The effect of two-chemical elicitors, salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate, on the production of gossypol, 6-methoxy gossypol, and 6,6'-dimethoxy gossypol in Gossypium barbadense hairy roots was examined. Methyl jasmonate, but not salicylic acid, was found to increase the production of gossypol and its methylated forms, but with a concomitant reduction in culture growth. The optimal methyl jasmonate dose was between 100 and 300 µM for hairy roots harvested 7 days after elicitation. After 20 days of induction with 100 µM methyl jasmonate, an 8-fold increase in the level of gossypol was observed in elicited cultures compared with control cultures, double the highest gossypol levels previously reported for any cotton tissue. A 2- to 3-fold increase in the level of 6-methoxy gossypol and a slight increase in the levels of 6,6'-dimethoxy gossypol were also observed. Although methyl jasmonate stimulated the production of both optical forms of gossypol, the distribution of the enantiomers was different between elicited and control cultures.