Morphological and molecular data reveal a new species of Allium (Amaryllidaceae) from SW Anatolia, Turkey

Allium undulatitepalum (Amaryllidaceae) is described as a new species from the Antalya Province of Turkey. It belongs to the section Melanocrommyum and is endemic to the south-western region of Turkey. The new species is a close relative of A. orientale, but according to results of the ITS sequences, and based on the morphological differences presented in the description, it is clearly different from its relative. A phylogenetic tree, distribution map, illustrations, pollen and seed micro-photographs, karyo-morphology, as well as notes on the biogeography and ecology of the new species are provided

A new species of Dianthus (Caryophyllaceae) from Antalya, South Anatolia, Turkey

Dianthus multiflorus from Gazipaşa (Antalya), south Anatolia (Turkey), is described as a new annual species with verrucose calyx. The morphological differences from the species within the same group with D. multiflorus, which are D. aydogdui, D. cyri and D. tripunctatus, are discussed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat category and observations on the ecology of the populations are noted. The karyology and seed micromorphology of D. multiflorus and D. tripunctatus were examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy

Karyomorphology and nuclear DNA content of sixteen Ophrys L. taxa from Turkey

Karyotypes in 16 representative taxa of the Ophrys genus are compared, based on Feulgen-stained somatic metaphase chromosomes. The karyotypes of O. omegaifera subsp. israelitica, O. ulupinara, O. lycia, O. argolica subsp. lucis, O. argolica subsp. lesbis, O. climacis and O. reinholdii subsp. reinholdii are described for the first time. Karyological analyses indicate relationships among the species with respect to their asymmetry indices. All Ophrys taxa studied were diploid with 2n=2x=36 chromosomes. One B chromosome has been detected among the chromosomes of O. argolica subsp. lucis. All karyotypes are symmetrical, consisting of metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes. The longest chromosomes of all the investigated specimens contain a secondary constriction. It is determined that there is a correlation between the total number of chromosomes having secondary constrictions and the evolutionary development order of the taxa. Based on nuclear DNA content, analysis was carried out by flow cytometer using propodium iodide as fluorochrome, 2C nuclear DNA content of 16 Ophrys species varying between 20.80pg (O. argolica subsp. lucis) and 23.11pg (O. omegaifera subsp. israelitica). Karyotype asymmetry relationships are discussed according to the bidimensional scatter plots of A(1)-A(2), CVCL-CVCI, CVCL-M-CA and CVCI-M-CA

Evaluation of the androgenic competence of 66 wild Turkish Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert genotypes through microspore culture

© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.One of the most remarkable natural plants is Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert, which has a high economic, medicinal and industrial potential due to its valuable compounds. However, it is mostly an underused plant worldwide. To implement doubled haploid technology in plant breeding programs and exploit its potential, first knowing the particulars of the species is necessary. This study was aimed to explore the androgenic potential of different wild Turkish V. hispanica genotypes collected from different Turkish regions, as a starting point to identify bottlenecks to solve in future studies. As to induction of microspore embryogenesis, nearly all of them responded, with efficiencies reaching 300 embryos/100 buds in some cases. However, we also found three main bottlenecks. First, the presence of foam-producing saponins in flowers prevented an efficient isolation of microspores. Second, embryos showed a reduced ability to germinate. Third, a dense network of hairy roots prevented the formation of a true, fully functional root system. Together, these drawbacks led to the production of very few DH plants. The presence of rhizogenic endophytes may be the cause of most of these problems, which opens the door for possible solutions

Physical and chemical properties of cow cockle seeds (Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert) genetic resources of Turkey

The seeds of Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert plant which spreads naturally in all regions of Turkey, have potential use in food and pharmaceutical industries. However, this plant, which is not well known, is not yet cultivated and used industrially. For sustainable industrial production, it is important to cultivate the seeds to obtain standard characteristic components such as superior starch granules, triterpenic saponins and cyclopeptides. The main objective of this study is to determine the content of the target components of the seeds obtained after adaptation to cultivation conditions among Vaccaria hispanica genotypes grown in nature. For this purpose, Vaccaria hispanica genotypes were collected, cultivated and analyzed regarding certain physical and chemical properties of seeds. The starch yield, segetalin A and saponin content of Vaccaria hispanica seeds were found in the range of 23.67-49.59 g/100 g dry seed, 0.17-0.65 g/100 g dry seed and 0.15-1.14 g/100 g dry seed, respectively. The thousand-grain weight, bulk density, moisture content, protein content, total phenolic and total fat content, and fatty acid composition were also determined. The seeds of Vaccaria hispanica genotypes were classified according to the analyzed parameters. All physical and chemical characteristics of the seeds subjected to principal component analyses and hierarchical cluster analyses which revealed that the total similarity values of the samples were determined to be 45.58% F1 and F2, 27.68% F1 and 17.90% F2; the samples were collected into three main groups