The present invention relates to a medium composition for production of botulinum toxin and, more particularly, to a medium composition for culture of Clostridium sp. capable of producing botulinum toxin. The medium composition of the present invention comprises at least one plant-derived peptone selected from the group consisting of a garden pea hydrolysate, a cotton seed hydrolysate and a wheat gluten hydrolysate. When the medium according to the present invention, which contains plant-derived peptones and minerals, is used for culture of Clostridium botulinum, the growth rate of the bacterium in the medium is about 1.5-2 times higher than that in the medium that is in current use. In addition, when botulinum toxin is produced by culturing the bacterium in the medium, infection with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) or the like can be prevented by blocking introduction of animal-derived components.

Novel Otomeria plants are provided herein. Also provided are methods and systems for generating such plants and tissues for use in such methods and systems.

Example embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure are directed to methods comprising contacting a plant part with a nucleotide sequence encoding a gene that induces plant cell matrix (PCM) formation, and culturing the plant part under growth conditions to enhance PCM formation.

The invention relates to a matrix-mediated algal cell culture system comprising a porous matrix, a microalgal cell culture comprising cells immobilised on the porous matrix, and a vector including a nucleic acid sequence encoding a heterologous polypeptide of interest, wherein immobilisation of microalgal cells on the porous matrix results in the formation of interstitial spaces between the microalgal cells to allow for increased contact of the microalgal cells with the vector compared with a culture of microalgal cells which are not immobilised on a porous matrix, thereby allowing for more efficient transfection of the microalgal cells with the vector. The invention also relates to methods of screening single species of microalgae and mixed ecology samples for the ability to be transfected using the algal cell culture system, and to methods for the production of heterologous polypeptides using the matrix-mediated cell culture system.

One aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method for activation/enhancement of cell growth of a plant. The method also stimulates the production of pharmaceutically active metabolites, including alkaloids, in plant cell cultures. The method includes providing a nano-sized material contained agent, and treating the plant with the nano-sized material contained agent to allow sufficient interaction of cells of the plant with the nano-sized material so as to activate/enhance the cell growth of the plant or to stimulate the production of pharmaceutically active metabolites.

A method of cell culture includes (i) culturing cells in a cell culture medium, and (ii) maintaining at least one metabolite below an inhibitory concentration in the cell culture medium for the at least one metabolite, wherein the at least one metabolite is aconitic acid (AA), leucinic acid (HICA), cytidine monophosphate (CMP), methylsuccinic acid (MSA), trigonelline (TRI), N-acetylputrescinium (NAP), or a combination thereof, and wherein the enzyme comprises ADH5, BCAT1, CAT, GOT1, HADHB, HOGA1, SLC35A1, or a combination thereof.

The present invention provides medium compositions and methods for the regeneration of the whole plant from explants obtained from plants belonging to the Malvaceae family, particularly the Abelmoschus genus, more preferably Abelmoschus esculentus L, through somatic embryogenesis. The present invention also provides an efficient methodology for genetic transformation of plants belonging to the Malvaceae family through somatic embryogenesis in semisolid culture with the use of the Agrobacterium. The present invention is also related to a method for the development of virus-resistant transgenic plants belonging to the Malvaceae family.

This invention relates to an agent for inducing a callus comprising a compound represented by Formula (I) or a hydrolysis product of an amide bond thereof: ##STR00001##
wherein Ar.sup.1 represents phenyl substituted with substituent or substituents selected from alkoxy and methylenedioxy; Ar.sup.2 represents phenyl substituted with halogen; R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each represent hydrogen, alkyl, cyano, or carboxyl; R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 may together form oxo; R.sup.3 to R.sup.10 each represent hydrogen or methyl; and R.sup.3 and R.sup.4, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8, and/or R.sup.9 and R.sup.10 may together form oxo; a method for inducing a callus and a method for plant transformation using such agent for inducing a callus.

A method of producing isothiocyanates includes forming, in a semi-solid or solid callus induction medium, compact callus aggregates from cells obtained from explant material of a Brassica oleracea L. plant. The method includes transferring cells from the callus aggregates, e.g. transferring the callus aggregates, to a suspension culture in a liquid medium in a shake flask, the liquid medium containing a plurality of elicitors. The method further involves transferring, after culturing in the shake flask, cells from the suspension culture to a further suspension culture in a bioreactor containing the elicitors. The method includes extracting and/or purifying of at least one isothiocyanate from cells obtained from the bioreactor. The elicitors have chitosan and salicylic acid to increase accumulation of benzyl isothiocyanate or any other isothiocyanate.

A stackable raising seedling device has a device body and a floating planting board. The device body has raising seeding hole parts disposed at intervals and holes disposed intervals. The raising seeding hole pans and the holes are staggered in parallel and with each other along a first direction, the raising seeding hole part and the holes are staggered in parallel with each other along a second direction, and the holes of the first direction and the raising seeding hole parts of the second direction are adjacently arranged. The raising seeding hole pan can receive a culture medium layer, the culture medium layer has an agar gel, and the agar gel is composed of a plant growth nutrient, agar powder and water. The present disclosure improves the overall seed germination rate and the quality of planted crops when massively planting the planted crops.