Expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin enhances growth of Hyoscyamus muticus hairy root cultures

The Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene (vhb) was introduced into Hyoscyamus muticus with the aim of investigating its effect on growth and alkaloid production of Agrobacterium rhizogenes-induced hairy root cultures. We were able to generate several VHb-expressing hairy root lines with different integration patterns. Substantial somaclonal variation was observed in growth and hyoscyamine production amongst both VHb-expressing lines and controls. Despite this variation, the growth properties of single lines remained stable over time. Expression of VHb was found to improve growth of H. muticus hairy roots in shake-flask cultures. The dry weights of the root cultures expressing Vitreoscilla hemoglobin were on average 18 % higher than those of the controls. VHb expression also increased the volumetric hyoscyamine production, mainly due to the improved growth properties. However, this difference was not statistically significant due to the wide somaclonal variation and fluctuations over time in both VHb and control hairy root lines.