Publication: Unraveling elicitor responses in plant cell cultures through multi-platform metabolomics: Biotechnological implications for phytochemical enhancement

BioVT is co-author of a review entitled Unraveling elicitor responses in plant cell cultures through multi-platform metabolomics: Biotechnological implications for phytochemical enhancement in the journal Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture.

Plant cell cultures provide a versatile and controlled platform for the sustainable production of valuable secondary metabolites. Unlike whole plants, which exhibit organ-specific biosynthetic patterns and systemic responses to environmental cues, plant cell cultures  simplified systems that often yield distinct metabolic profiles. This review explores advances in metabolomic studies, focusing on how culture conditions and elicitation strategies modulate the production of bioactive compounds. High-resolution analytical tools, exemplified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, have facilitated untargeted and targeted metabolomic profiling across various plant cell systems. Elicitation, particularly with phytohormones, such as methyl jasmonate (MeJA), has been shown to significantly enhance production of phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids in cultured cells compared to intact plant tissues. Several studies have highlighted that metabolite accumulation patterns in plant cell cultures do not merely reflect a scaled-down version of the intact plant metabolism, but rather a reorganized network that can be fine-tuned via biotechnological interventions. Such reprogramming and plasticity of metabolic pathways have enabled researchers to increase the yield of particular phytochemicals of therapeutic interest, often surpassing levels observed in field-grown plants. These findings not only aid in understanding biochemical plasticity within natural product modules but also support the strategic use of plant cell cultures in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries. Furthermore, metabolomics facilitates pathway elucidation, quality control, and metabolic engineering by providing chemical fingerprints and flux insights necessary for optimization. This review discusses the implications of metabolic divergence in cell cultures for targeting bioactive compounds, highlighting the potential of metabolomics-guided biotechnological applications.

M.H. Baky, M.B. Abouelela, M.A. Farag, R. Ulber, A. Zayed; Unraveling elicitor responses in plant cell cultures through multi-platform metabolomics: Biotechnological implications for phytochemical enhancement; Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (2026) in press