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Transgenic Medicinal Plants pp 88–102Cite as

Genetic Transformation of Catharanthus roseus (Periwinkle)

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Part of the book series: Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry ((AGRICULTURE,volume 45))

Abstract

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don (= Vinca rosea L.), the Madagascar periwinkle, is a pantropical erect subshrub, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The plant accumulates more than 100 indole alkaloids, mainly the monomeric alkaloids ajmalicine, serpentine, vindoline, and catharanthine. Ajmalicine is an antihypertensive drug used in the treatment of circulatory diseases. Vindoline and catharanthine are the precursors of dimeric alkaloids, such as vinblastine and vincristine, the importance of which in the treatment of acute leukemia was established in the 1960s (Van Tellingen et al. 1992). Indeed, these two alkaloids were the first plant products to be approved by the FDA for cancer treatment (Noble 1990). They accumulate in aerial parts of the plant but only in very low amounts; thus they are very costly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Biochimie Végétale, EA 2106, Faculté de Pharmacie, 31 avenue Monge, 37200, Tours, France

    F. Garnier, S. Hamdi & M. Rideau

  2. Centre de Recherches d’Orléans, Station d’Amélioration des Arbres Forestiers, INRA, 45160, Orléans, France

    P. Label

Authors
  1. F. Garnier
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  2. S. Hamdi
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  3. P. Label
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  4. M. Rideau
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. A-137 New Friends Colony, New Delhi, 110065, India

    Y. P. S. Bajaj

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Garnier, F., Hamdi, S., Label, P., Rideau, M. (1999). Genetic Transformation of Catharanthus roseus (Periwinkle). In: Bajaj, Y.P.S. (eds) Transgenic Medicinal Plants. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, vol 45. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58439-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58439-8_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63595-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-58439-8

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