Elicitor-induced resveratrol production in cell cultures of different grape genotypes (Vitis spp.)

Higher plants synthesize secondary metabolites in response to abiotic and biotic stress. Liquid cell culture may be a useful tool for studying phytoalexin biosynthesis during plant interaction with pathogens. Dimethyl-ß-cyclodextrin (DIMEB), an oligosaccharide consisting of 2,6-methylated cyclic a(1.4)-linked glucopyranose moieties, was shown to be capable of inducing stilbene biosynthesis in liquid grape cell cultures, also in the absence of pathogenic organisms. DIMEB is capable of inducing a response in the liquid cell cultures of the Vitis vinifera cultivars Pinot Noir and Merzling and furthermore in V. amurensis and a cross between V. riparia and V. berlandieri. More detailed attention was focused on different responses in cell suspensions of Pinot Noir and the cross of V. riparia and V. berlandieri after DIMEB treatment.