Production of the anticancer drug taxol in Taxus baccata suspension cultures: A review

Plant cell factories constitute an alternative source of high added value phytochemicals such as the anticancer drug taxol (generic name paclitaxel), biosynthesized in Taxus spp. The growing demand for taxol and its derivatives, due to a specific action mechanism and the scarcity of the taxane ring in nature, has made this group of compounds one of the most interesting targets for biotechnological production. This review is focused on recent advances in the production of taxol and related taxanes in Taxus baccata, the taxol-producing European yew, using cell suspension culture technology. The review contains a brief description of the botany and phytochemistry of T. baccata, as well as the chemical structure of taxol and the molecular requirements for its anticancer effects. After a short overview of taxol production at an industrial level, the review focuses on taxol biosynthesis in plant cells and the attempts to produce taxol in T. baccata cell cultures, giving particular emphasis to the optimization steps that have improved production, and including the most recently developed new tools. Finally, the future prospects for the biotechnological production of taxol are also discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.