Plant Cell Organoids of <i>Catharanthus roseus</i> : A Novel Biotechnological Platform for Vinblastine and Indole‐Derived Alkaloids

Plant suspension cultures represent a promising alternative for the large-scale production of secondary metabolites. However, the in vivo biosynthesis of many of these compounds is typically confined to specialized cell types, which are rarely present in the homogeneous cells of conventional suspension cultures. To address this limitation, we introduced the use of plant cell organoids as a strategy to promote cellular specialization and structural heterogeneity within liquid cultures of Catharanthus. This approach aimed to mimic the tissue-like organization necessary for the biosynthesis of complex alkaloids. Metabolite profiling by quadrupole time-of-flight tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS/MS) revealed that organoid cultures produced vinblastine at concentrations of 1.58 mg kg^- ¹, whereas fine suspension cultures failed to produce detectable levels of this compound. This production is associated with the presence of differentiated, alkaloid-accumulating cells within the organoid structures. These findings highlight the potential of organoid culture systems as an effective in vitro platform to large-scale produce secondary metabolites that require cell-type-specific biosynthetic capacities.