EFFECT OF LIGHT ON NICOTINE PRODUCTION IN TOBACCO TISSUE-CULTURE

The effect of light on nicotine production in cultured tobacco callus tissues was investigated. Illumination strikingly inhibited the nicotine production even though the growth of the tissues was slightly stimulated by the light. The inhibitory effect of light increased as the intensity and the length of the illumination increased. No decisive difference in nicotine production was observed between the effects of blue light and red light. The depression of nicotine production by light was restored completely when the tissue was transferred to the dark. Therefore, nicotine production is concluded to be regulated by the light just as in the case of plant growth regulators. The inhibitory effect of light was assumed to be caused rather by the inhibition of nicotine biosynthesis than by the promotion of nicotine decomposition. © 1978 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.