(286) Hairy Root Culture as a Source of Unique Secondary Metabolites from Echinacea Species

Echinacea is one of the best-selling medicinal plants in the United States. It was historically harvested from wild populations, but its demand has increased so significantly that commercial production has become a necessity to supply the increasing demand and to protect wild populations. The medicinal properties of echinacea are associated with secondary metabolites that are produced mainly in the roots. Hairy roots, induced by the Ri plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes , have been produced in other crops as alternative sources of secondary metabolites that commonly are produced and synthesized in the roots of mature plants. This method of production offers some advantages over traditional agricultural systems, such as the possibility of producing novel compounds year-round. The overall goal of this project is to explore the utility of hairy root cultures (mediated by A. rhizogenes ) as an efficient, alternative, and enriched source of secondary compounds with medicinal properties, such as alkamides, flavonoids, and caffeic acid derivatives. We have been successful in transforming roots from E. angustifolia, E. pallida , and E. purpurea plants, and confirming the presence of rol ABC genes in hairy roots using molecular techniques. Roots from control plants show no active growth under dark conditions, whereas transformed roots from E. pallida and E. purpurea show a low degree of branching with a slow growth rate on solid media under darkness. However, transformed E. angustifolia show a faster growth rate and higher degree of branching under the same conditions. Currently, we are working on the optimization of the growing conditions of the transformed roots and will proceed to the biochemical analysis phase of the project.