SERPENTINE ACCUMULATION DURING GREENING IN NORMAL AND TUMOR-TISSUES OF CATHARANTHUS-ROSEUS

We have developed a model for the study of indole alkaloid accumulation. The model centers on the control of chloroplast biogenesis by light or hormonal regime, and associated serpentine production. Catharanthus roseus cells when grown in dark in the presence of 13.3-mu-M benzyladenine, are achlorophyllous and serpentine is not detected; but if these cultures are grown in the presence of light, they become green with a chlorophyll content of 150 mg Kg-1 FM after 24 d. In a parallel manner the serpentine content increases up to 3.1 g Kg-1 DM. On the other hand, tumor cells obtained by transformation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain 4210 are white and do not produce serpentine when grown in the light. When this tumor tissue is transferred to a medium containing 13.3-mu-M benzyladenine, the chlorophyll content reaches 54 mg Kg-1 FM after 204 d, and the serpentine content is 0.3 g Kg-1 DM. There seems to be a correlation between the greening of the tissue and their serpentine content that suggests a fundamental function of chloroplasts in serpentine biosynthesis.