Hairy roots cultures from different Solanaceous species have varying capacities to produce E. coli B-subunit heat-labile toxin antigen.

The gene encoding enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli B-subunit heat-labile toxin (LTB) antigen was co-transformed into hairy root cultures of Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) and Petunia parodii (petunia) under the CaMV35S promoter. Tobacco and petunia roots contained ~65-70 μg LTB g(-1) tissue whilst hairy roots of tomato contained ~10 μg LTB g(-1). Antigen at ~600 ng ml(-1) was detected in growth medium of tobacco and petunia. Tobacco roots with higher LTB levels showed growth retardation of ~80% whereas petunia hairy roots with similar levels of LTB showed only ~35% growth retardation, relative to vector controls. Regeneration of plants from LTB-containing tobacco hairy roots was readily achieved and re-initiated hairy roots from greenhouse-grown plants showed similar growth and LTB production characteristics as the original hairy root cultures. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011