In vitro regeneration and synthetic seed production in endemic ricotia carnosula boiss. & heldr. (Brassicaceae)

Ricotia carnosula Boiss. & Heldr. (Brassicaceae) is an important endemic plant with a rich antioxidant content and pharmaceutical potential. It also has the feature of being used as a seasonal ornamental plant if it is supported by various cultivation or breeding studies. However, R. carnosula is among the endangered species in the LR-lc group, according to the IUCN (Red Plants List of Endangered Species) category. In this thesis, it is aimed to improve an efficient in vitro regeneration protocol of R. carnosula endemic, of which sustainable production and genetic resource conservation protocols are absent in the literature, through somatic embryogenesis or organogenesis. In addition, by transforming the obtained somatic embryos into synthetic seeds with encapsulation applications, it is aimed to form a basis for R. carnosula's in vitro cryopreservation. The cotyledon and hypocotyls of in vitro seedlings developed from seeds were used as explants. In regeneration studies each of the explants was cultured in each of 73 different regeneration media consisting of IAA, 2,4-D, NAA as auxins and TDZ, BA, Zeatin as cytokinins in various concentrations and combinations. The effects of the explants and regeneration media and their interactions on the response, the formations of total callus, embryogenic callus, organogenic callus, anthocyanin, somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis were investigated. At the end of the study, it was concluded that R. carnosula has a very high regeneration potential in terms of callus formation, somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis. Especially in control medium without any plant growth regulator (BGD), the observation of intense callus, somatic embryo, shoot and root structure formations revealed how high the endogenous hormone levels in the cotyledon and hypocotyl tissues of R. carnosula. In terms of embryogenic callus formation, as the average of 73 media, cotyledon explant (30.1%) was found to be more successful than hypocotyl explant (12.8%) while hypocotyl explant (11.9%) is better than cotyledon explant (4.9%) regarding organogenic callus formation. The highest direct somatic embryo formation (37.5%) occurred in cotyledons cultured in the 71st medium (1 mg / L Zeatin), while the highest indirect somatic embryo formation (75%) in the 11th medium (0.5 mg / L BA + 0.5 mg / L IAA ) formed in cotyledons. The highest formation of direct organogenesis (100%) was obtained from hypocotyls in control environment without BGD, whereas the highest indirect organogenesis formation (62.5%) occurred in hypocotyl explants cultured in the 2nd medium (1 mg / L IAA). Finally, the highest somatic embryo yield (97 embryo / petri) occurred in cotyledons in the 58th medium (1 mg / L TDZ + 1 mg / L NAA), while the highest shoot yield (78.5 shoot / petri) formed in hypocotyls in 71th medium (1 mg / L Zeatin). Among the different encapsulation applications applied to the somatic embryos formed, the combination of 100 mM CaCl2 and 4% sodium alginate has been determined as the most suitable coating medium for the formation of synthetic seeds. Synthetic seeds obtained from this applications germinated up to 94%. It is hoped that the in vitro regeneration and synthetic seed protocols developed with this thesis will contribute to the studies on effective clonal production of the R. carnosula endemic, which does not yet have a clonal production protocol and faces the danger of extinction, and long-term in vitro cryopreservation as a genetic resource.