Abstract
The in vitro cell culture collection maintained at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering (Kiev, Ukraine), which contains more than 2,000 plant cell lines of different taxonomic groups, was screened for leads with biological activity. Sufficient cell biomass was produced and hairy roots for a number of plant species of different families were induced. Elicitors were used to expand the possible spectrum of specific compounds expressed by the cultured cells. An in vitro collection of living mosses from Antarctica with a unique resistance to abiotic stresses was also studied. Close to 800 extracts were tested for insecticidal and fungicidal activities. Of those, 3.9% of the total 800 samples showed some insecticidal activity. Forty-five (11.25%) of the more than 400 plant extract samples screened showed some antifungal activity. The results show that in vitro biodiversity is an invaluable resource in comparing the biological activity potential of intact plants and greenhouse materials by allowing for reproducible screening and genomic investigations.
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