INCREASED PRODUCTION OF CADAVERINE AND ANABASINE IN HAIRY ROOT CULTURES OF NICOTIANA-TABACUM EXPRESSING A BACTERIAL LYSINE DECARBOXYLASE GENE

Several hairy root cultures of Nicotiana tabacum varieties, carrying t wo direct repeats of a bacterial lysine decarboxylase (ldc) gene contr olled by the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter expressed LD C activity up to 1 pkat/mg protein. Such activity was, for example, su fficient to increase cadaverine levels of the best line SR3/1-K1,2 fro m ca. 50 mug (control cultures) to about 700 mug/g dry mass. Some of t he overproduced cadaverine of this line was used for the formation of anabasine, as shown by a 3-fold increase of this alkaloid. In transgen ic lines with lower LDC activity the changes of cadaverine and anabasi ne levels were correspondingly lower and sometimes hardly distinguisha ble from controls. Feeding of lysine to root cultures, even to those w ith low LDC activity, greatly enhanced cadaverine and anabasine levels , while the amino acid had no or very little effect on controls and LD C-negative lines.