Micropropagation of Endemic Taxa of the Flora of Turkey: Helichrysum arenarium (L.) Moench subsp. erzincanicum P.H. Davis & Kupicha (Asteraceae)

This study developed a micropropagation protocol using explants grown from seeds of Helichrysum arenarium (L.) Moench subsp. erzincanicum and plant tissue culture methods. Initially, indirect shoot organogenesis was performed with H. arenarium subsp. erzincanicum in vitro plantlets on Murashige and Skoog (MS) and B5 media (abbrev. as MSB) supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (Kin) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). A maximum number of shoots was induced in 1 mg L ^-1 BAP (61.2%). Subsequently, the shoots were inoculated in MSB combinations with 0.5–1.5 mg L ^-1 indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), wherein 1.0 mg L ^-1 IBA (77.8%) recorded the maximum number of roots. Additionally, callus formation was achieved with different concentrations of thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg L ^-1 ) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (1.0 mg L ^-1 ) and the highest callus formation percentage (80.2%) was observed MSB media combinations with 2.0 mg L ^-1 TDZ and 1.0 mg L ^-1 NAA. This study presents the successful development of a micropropagation protocol for H. arenarium subsp. erzincanicum and supports its in vitro propagation via explants grown from seed.