Pistacia lentiscus L. (lentisk or mastic tree) is an economically important member of the genus Pistacia due to its valuable mastic resin. Shoot tips and nodal segments were used as explant sources from in vitro-germinated seeds of lentisk. Shoot tips were found to be suitable for multiple shoot formation. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2014) 38: 653-663 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article In vitro regeneration and conservation of the lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus L.) 1 2 1, İbrahim KOÇ , Ahmet ONAY , Yelda ÖZDEN ÇİFTÇİ * Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Gebze Institute of Technology, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey 1 Received: Accepted: Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Pistacia lentiscus L. (lentisk or mastic tree) is an economically important member of the genus Pistacia due to its valuable mastic resin. Shoot tips and nodal segments were used as explant sources from in vitro-germinated seeds of lentisk. Shoot tips were found to be suitable for multiple shoot formation. Thereafter, the influences of different growth regulators [N6-benzyladenine (BA), gibberellic acid (GA3), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), or jasmonic acid (JA)] together with various elicitors [silver nitrate (AgNO3) or phloroglucinol (PG)] were assessed to develop efficient micropropagation protocol. Our results showed that the combination of all tested concentrations of GA3 with mg/L BA resulted in enhancement of multiple shoot formation. The maximum number of shoots per explant () was recorded on MS medium containing mg/L BA and mg/L GA3. In contrast, JA had a negative influence, while AgNO3 had no significant effect on multiple shoot formation. In terms of synthetic seed production, it was possible to encapsulate shoot tips at 4 °C in darkness for up to 6 months with a frequency of plant regrowth. In vitro-propagated microshoots, including plantlets derived from synthetic seeds, were transferred to MS medium containing different concentrations (, , or mg/L) of indole butyric acid for rooting and successfully acclimatized to ex vitro .
