Towards ex situ conservation of globally rare Turkish endemic Tripleurospermum fissurale (Asteraceae)

A rapid and efficient in vitro micropropagation system was developed to conserve Tripleurospermum fissurale (Sosn.) E.Hossain (Asteraceae), a rare endemic species for Turkey. Murashige and Skoog basal medium (MS) supplemented with 4.7 µM KIN was found to be the most appropriate basal medium with a 60% germination rate. MS medium supplemented with 4.9 µM 2iP and 0.5 µM IBA gave the highest shoot length of 54.3 ± 3.53 mm. Furthermore, 4.4 µM 6-BA combined with 0.5 µM IBA was superior for the highest shoot number with 3.4 ± 0.49 after 4-wk culture. Cytogenetic analyses indicated that all propagated plants have the same DNA ploidy level ( x ) and chromosome number (2 n = 18) compared with the mother plants. After 4 wk, the rooting percentage achieved 100% in all tested rooting media. MS medium supplemented with 2.7 µM NAA favored the highest root number, root length, and secondary root number with 3.44 ± 0.5, 170.1 ± 4.91 mm, and 26.1 ± 1.65, respectively. Rooted plantlets were initially acclimatized and then transferred in greenhouse conditions. This method could be evaluated for ex situ conservation of rare endemic and endangered plant species.