In vitro micro-propagation of endangered ornamental plant-Neotchihatchewia isatidea (Boiss.) Rauschert

The ornamental plant, Neotchihatchewia isatidea, is an endangered species of Turkey and threatened by complete extinction in the future. Therefore, in vitro multiplication of this species can be valuable forcommercial production and germplasm conservation. Immature embryos of N. isatidea were cultured for initiation on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with N6-benzylamino-purine (BAP)and -naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Shoot primordia were visible within 5 - 6 weeks and the shoot primordia later developed into normal shoots 10 - 12 weeks after the culture initiation on calli developedfrom immature embryos. Shoot tips were also excised from developed plantlets for direct shoot organogenesis and cultured on MS shoot induction medium supplemented with BAP (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0mg/l), kinetin (KIN) (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/l) and thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.05, 0.10 and 0.50 mg/l). Direct multiple shoots from shoot tips developed in most media tested. High shoot multiplication (3.73), high rooting(53 %) number of root per shoot (3.66) and survival ratio (46.6 %) were achieved

Indirect selection of Cre1 gene in winter wheat populations

The nematodes are important biotic constraint in rain-fed wheat production systems. In Turkey, they is found in 75.0% of soil samples in Central Anatolia with the dominant species being Heterodera filipjevi. Yield losses for winter wheat in rain-fed environments are documented between 27.0-46.0 %. A single dominant gene for resistance to H. avenae, designated as Cre1, was assessed in Turkey. It was also found to be effective to Heterodera filipjevi. In this research, a STS based Cre1 marker was applied in a number of segregating wheat populations from F1 to F4 to discriminate Cre1-positive lines among the wheat populations. Results clearly indicated that Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) is functioning effectively, with recovery of Cre1 positive lines up to 88.0 % depending on the cross in early stage of breeding