PRODUCTION OF PARTHENOLIDE IN ORGAN-CULTURES OF FEVERFEW

In vitro culture of Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch.Bip. was initiated f rom aseptically germinated seedlings. Shoot culture was derived from n odal explants of the seedlings on MS medium containing 4.44 mu M (1.0 mg l(-1)) of 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 0.54 mu M (0.1 mg l(-1)) of alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Transformed roots were obtained by infection of the stems of aseptically grown seedlings with Agrobacter ium rhizogenes LBA 9402. The parthenolide content in the cultivated pl ant organs was investigated by RP-HPLC. The production of the compound was strongly influenced by the genotype of the parent plant and range d from 0.13% to 0.75% dry weight in the shoots of the rooted plantlets grown in vitro. The yield of the compound in multiple shoot cultures of T.parthenium reached 60% of that found in the shoots of rooted plan tlets. In contrast to shoots, only trace amounts of parthenolide could be detected in some clones of transformed roots and the roots of plan tlets.