Light-Mediated Biosynthesis of Phenylpropanoid Metabolites in Cell Suspension Cultures of Turkish Yarrow (Achillea gypsicola Hub. Mor.)

Turkish yarrow (Achillea gypsicola Hub. Mor.) contains medicinally valuable bioactive metabolites. Light plays a key role in many physiological events in plants such as the accumulation of phenylpropanoid metabolites, particularly photosynthesis. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of light on the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid metabolites and biomass growth in Turkish yarrow cell suspension cultures. In vitro plantlets obtained from seeds were used as explant sources and cell cultures of A. gypsicola were established using stem segment-derived callus tissues. Then, 8-day-old cell cultures kept in a B5 medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BA (benzylaminopurine)+0.5 mg/L NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) were incubated in light and dark environments. Cells were harvested five times (1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd), 6(th), and 12(th) day) in total. The amount of camphor was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Other parameters were calculated using the spectrophotometric method. The total phenolic amount increased depending on the sampling time in dark and light conditions. Phenolic accumulation was increased by 29.25% compared to the initial culture. Also, light application increased the amount of camphor 1.12 times, the amount of flavanol 4.9 times, and the amount of flavonol 0.5 times. These results clearly demonstrate the effect of light on cell growth and phenylpropanoid metabolite accumulation in A. gypsicola cell cultures.