DETERMINATION OF NUCLEAR DNA CONTENT AND CHROMOSOME NUMBER OF VERBASCUM SCAMANDRI MURB. (SCROPHULARIACEAE)

The study aimed to determine the chromosome number and nuclear DNA content of an endemic plant, Verbascum scamandri, using 14-week-old plants germinated from seed and to determine the genetic stability based on flow cytometry analyses in callus tissue induced MS medium containing 1 mg/L Kin + 1 mg/L 2,4-D and 9-week-old propagated plants, induced and developed on MS medium containing 2 mg/L Kin + 0.1 mg/L 2,4-D. In the mitotic chromosome counts showed that V. scamandri had 2n = 32 chromosome number. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that 14-week-old in vitro grown plants have 0.73 pg/2C ± 0.01, callus tissue has 0.76 pg/2C ± 0.02 and propagated plantlets have 0.79 pg/2C ± 0.01. The results proved that propagated plants had similar DNA content to the seed-derived plants which showed analysed plants were genetically stable.