Influence of medium constituents on growth and betalain production in cell suspension cultures of Beta vulgaris
G. Trejo Tapia1, A. Jiminez Aparicio1*, M. Rodriguez1, G. Sepulveda1, G. Salcedo1, B. Martinez1 , G. Gutierrez 2 and A. De Jesus1
1Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bioticos IPN, P.0. Box No. 24, Yautepec 62 731 Morelos Mexico.
2Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologicas IPN, Carpio y Plan de Ayala, s/n Col. Sto. Tomas,
Mexico 11340DF, Mexico
(Received 15 December 1998 /Accepted 6 October 1999)
Abstract.
To propose an alternative culture media for the production of betalains by cell suspensions of Beta vulgaris, the influence of the main macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorous and calcium was investigated. Betalain production and cell growth were not affected significantly as a result of the nitrate/ ammonium ratios (3.02 to 12.23). The decrease from 24.72 to 12.36 mM on nitrate concentration and the suppression of ammonium from the standard B5 media did not affect betalain production and growth of the culture. Phosphate (0.5 to 1.5 mM) and calcium (from 0.5 to 1.5 mM) did not influenced significantly neither pigment synthesis nor growth. The elimination of calcium from the culture media resulted in a severe decrease on pigment production and cell growth and thus proving its importance for maintaining pigment production. On the other hand, a 100% increase in calcium concentration with respect to the concentration in B5, exerted a negative effect on the production. betacyanins/ betaxanthins (bc/bx) ratio was not modified with media changes. An alternative medium is proposed, containing no ammonium and 50% less nitrate, phosphate and calcium compared to standard B5 culture medium. The proposed modifications in the composition of the alternative medium, should reduce costs, not only when used for laboratory tests, but also when applied for bioreactor production system.
Keywords: Beta vulgaris, betalains, media culture, nitrogen, phosphate, calcium
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