Physiological and biochemical aspects of propagation in endemic species Micromeria pulegium (Rochel) Benth. and Micromeria croatica (Pers.) Schoot in vitro

aromatičnih biljaka koje se koriste u tradicionalnoj medicini, hortikulturi, hemijskoj, prehrambenoj i kozmetičkoj industriji. Retke, endemične i/ili ugrožene vrste familije Lamiaceae predstavljaju poseban izazov za proučavanje, prevashodno u cilju očuvanja specijskog diverziteta i njihovih populacija u prirodi, ali i zato što su izvor važnih bioaktivnih molekula raznovrsnog dejstva (antimikrobna, antvirusna, fungicidna, antioksidantna, citotoksična, alelohemijska, insekticidna aktivnost, itd.) i potencijalno široke primene. Usled izrazite heterogenosti, predstavnici roda Micromeria su bili često predmet taksonomskih diskusija. Pripadnike sekcije Pseudomelissa gde spada i М. pulegium, nakon molekularno genetičkih analiza hloroplastne DNK, Brauchler (2005) premešta u rod Clinopodium. Ipak, u ovoj tezi je primenjen tradicionalni taksonomski koncept, predložen od strane Harley-a i sar. (2004), koji podržava homogenost roda Micromeria, pri čemu je sect. Pseudomelissa njegova sastavna jedinica. U skladu sa primenjenim sistemom dve istraživane vrste su klasifikovane u idividualne sekcije roda: Micromeria sect. Micromeria (M. croatica), odnosno Micromeria sect. Pseudomelissa (M. pulegium). Micromeria pulegium predstavlja endemičnu vrstu Južnih Karpata u Rumuniji, sa enklavom u istočnoj Srbiji, a Micromeria croatica balkansku endemičnu vrstu čiji se areal vezuje pre svega za planinski venac Dinarida. Njihove prirodne populacije imaju mali broj jedinki i nastanjuju staništa koja su pod negativnim uticajem antropogenih faktora. Imajući u vidu značaj roda Micromeria, kao i činjenicu da su pomenute vrste retke i ugrožene, javila se potreba da se one gaje zarad očuvanja i istraživanja bez pritiska na prirodne populacije i bez remećenja prirodnog genofonda. Iz pomenutih razloga obe vrste roda Micromeria uvedene su kulturu biljnih tkiva in vitro. U ovoj disertaciji vršeno je ispitivanje efekata regulatora rastenja na morfogenezu i produkciju etarskih ulja endemičnih vrsta M. pulegium i M. croatica in vitro...Plants from Lamiaceae family are prominent representatives of the edible, medicinal or aromatic herbs used in traditional medicine, horticulture, chemical, cosmetic and food industry. The rare, endemic and/or threatened species from family Lamiaceae pose a special challenge for studying, primarily in order to preserve species diversity and their populations in the wild, but also as they are source material for important bioactive molecules with diverse activity (antimicrobial, antiviral, fungicidal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, allelochemical, insecticidal and other types of activity) and potential broad spectrum of use. Due to the pronounced heterogeneity, representatives of genus Micromeria used to be a common topic of taxonomic discussions. After the molecular-genetic analyses of chloroplast DNA, Brauchler (2005) has transferred the representatives of section Pseudomelissa, which includes М. pulegium, into the genus Clinopodium. However, this thesis is using the traditional taxonomic concept suggested by Harley et al. (2004), supporting the homogeneity of genus Micromeria, where sect. Pseudomelissa remains its integral unit. According to this system the two studied species were classified within the individual sections of the genus: Micromeria sect. Micromeria (M. croatica) and Micromeria sect. Pseudomelissa (M. pulegium). Micromeria pulegium represents an endemic species of Southern Carpathians in Romania, with an enclave in Eastern Serbia, while Micromeria croatica is an endemic Balkan species primarily connected with the mountain chain of Dinarides. Their natural populations are characterized by a small number of individuals inhabiting habitats under the negative influence of anthropogenic factors. Due to the importance of genus Micromeria and the fact that these two species are rare and threatened, a need arose to grow them in captivity so they may be preserved and studied without additional pressure on natural populations and without disturbance of the natural gene pool. For these reasons both species of genus Micromeria were introduced in plant tissue culture in vitro..