Tissue culture with the investigation of possibilities reproduction of Satureja aintabensis P. H. Davis

Satureja aintabensis P. H. Davis is an endemic plant which is found in a restricted area of Gaziantep-Dülükbaba. The plant, known as Antep rock thyme, is under the risk of extinction since its location is within a small archaeological area and it is gathered as thyme by people. For these reasons, S. aintabensis is located in the Red list in CR catagory by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Application of plant tissue culture techniques to S. aintabensis could allow clonal propagation of this species without depending on seasons, in small laboratory areas.In this study, somatic embryogenesis and root formation were induced by using Murashige and Skoog (1962)-MS media supplemented with 6-Benzylamino purine (BAP), Kinetin, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Naphtalene Acetic Acid (NAA) and 2,4 Dichlorophenoxy Acetic Acid (2,4 D). Sulfuric Acid was found to be effective in germination of seeds collected from nature. BAP and IAA combinations in different concentrations resulted callus formation in shoot tip and leaf explants of plants collected from nature.Key words: Satureja aintabensis, in vitro, tissue culture, somatic embryogenesis, callus