Abstract
Treatment of transformed Atropa belladonna root cultures with high concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) resulted in the production of methylated salicylic acid derivatives but not of glucosylated derivatives. This response was induced by 0.1mM SA whereas treatment with SA at concentrations higher than 1.2mM caused growth retardation. Nontransformed roots of A. belladonna responded to the addition of SA in almost the same manner as transformed roots, which suggests that this is a natural response in A. belladonna. We could not detect methylated SA in cultures of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia and Hyoscyamus niger. Besides SA, several aromatic compounds were methylated by the transformed roots of A. belladonna, and other responses, such as the conversion of benzoic acid to benzyl alcohol, were also observed.
