Suspension culture of plant cells under heterotrophic conditions

Plant cell culture technology (PCCT) provides an environmentally friendly and controlled method to produce secondary metabolites, and recombinant proteins (e.g., enzymes, antibodies, and vaccines). These molecules, having importance in medicine, food industry, and cosmetics, are in most cases expressed in heterotrophic growing plant cell suspension cultures. After presenting an overview of commercial products based on plant cell culture processes, this chapter will focus on plant cell suspension cultures and process and bioreactor design, which have proven to be useful for successfully moving up to a large scale. Two case studies describing the usage of the plant stem cell line PhytoCellTec Malus domestica cv. Uttwiler Spätlauber for cosmetic purposes and the manufacture of the pharmaceutical molecule paclitaxel highlight the latest improvements in PCCT and discuss costs and regulatory aspects from the manufacturer's view. Finally, a view on the development of heterotrophic plant cell fermentation is given.