Plant tissue culture is a technique in which plant cells, tissues or organs are isolated from mother plants and growth on artificial media. It is a powerful tool that could be used not only for micropropagation of crops, decorative plants, and production of metabolites but also for biodiversity conservation purposes. In-vitro conservation, based on micropropagation, is considered as one of the most efficient methods for ex-situ conservation. Moreover, it could be considered strategic for preventing biodiversity losses and for reinforcing populations in regions of the word known to be rich in biodiversity like Mediterranean area. In particular, this region is rich of endemic plants species that evolve differently to adapt better to a specific environment. For this reason, it has been recognized as one of the first 25 Global Biodiversity Hotspots. Unfortunately, the biodiversity of this region is threatened by human activity. One example is represented by Viola ucriana. Ucria’s violet is a rare plant which has been recognized as Critically Endangered Species according to International Union Conservation for Nature (IUCN) Red List Criteria. In addition, it is included in the top 50 of the threatened plant species of Mediterranean islands. Ucria’s violet appear to be near to the extinction and preservation measures are needed. Shoot tips were obtained from germinated seeds collected near the peak of Mt. Pizzuta (Palermo, Sicily) and successfully sub-cultured in-vitro. We developed an efficient micropropagation protocol for Ucria’s in which we combined the use of two different plant growth regulators (BAP and Zeatin) at different concentration. This protocol increased the laboratory plants population but a specific concentration of Auxin was needed to produce plants with a complete developed root apparatus. The protocol permitted us to produce well developed plant useful for reintroduction and translocation activity. The first trial will take place in Autumn in the University of Salento botanical garden.
Micropropagation of Viola ucriana Erben & Raimondo a critically endangered taxon for the Mediterranean region
Capaci P.;Anglana C.;Barozzi F.;Accogli R.;Di Sansebastiano G. P.
2023-01-01
Abstract
Plant tissue culture is a technique in which plant cells, tissues or organs are isolated from mother plants and growth on artificial media. It is a powerful tool that could be used not only for micropropagation of crops, decorative plants, and production of metabolites but also for biodiversity conservation purposes. In-vitro conservation, based on micropropagation, is considered as one of the most efficient methods for ex-situ conservation. Moreover, it could be considered strategic for preventing biodiversity losses and for reinforcing populations in regions of the word known to be rich in biodiversity like Mediterranean area. In particular, this region is rich of endemic plants species that evolve differently to adapt better to a specific environment. For this reason, it has been recognized as one of the first 25 Global Biodiversity Hotspots. Unfortunately, the biodiversity of this region is threatened by human activity. One example is represented by Viola ucriana. Ucria’s violet is a rare plant which has been recognized as Critically Endangered Species according to International Union Conservation for Nature (IUCN) Red List Criteria. In addition, it is included in the top 50 of the threatened plant species of Mediterranean islands. Ucria’s violet appear to be near to the extinction and preservation measures are needed. Shoot tips were obtained from germinated seeds collected near the peak of Mt. Pizzuta (Palermo, Sicily) and successfully sub-cultured in-vitro. We developed an efficient micropropagation protocol for Ucria’s in which we combined the use of two different plant growth regulators (BAP and Zeatin) at different concentration. This protocol increased the laboratory plants population but a specific concentration of Auxin was needed to produce plants with a complete developed root apparatus. The protocol permitted us to produce well developed plant useful for reintroduction and translocation activity. The first trial will take place in Autumn in the University of Salento botanical garden.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
