Hairy root cultures of Taxus x media var. Hicksii were established by infection of the plantlets with the Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LBA 9402. The paclitaxel accumulation in hairy root cultures increased after 100 mu M methyl jasmonate treatment from 69 to 210 mu g g(-1) dry wt while the 10-deacetybaccatin III content was not affected by the elicitor.