Abstract

Arum palaestinum Boiss. populations are in danger of extinction in the wild. Thus, there is a need to establish a reliable strategy for multiplying this valuable medicinal plant. In the present study, seeds and tissue culture of A. palaestinum were subjected to biochemical, molecular and phytochemical analysis. Obtained results indicated that the best medium for shoots proliferation was Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5 mg/L benzyl adenine (BA) and 0.1 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The regenerated shoots were rooted on half strength MS medium containing 1 mg/L NAA and 2 g/L charcoal. Tissue culture derived plantlets were successfully acclimatized under ex vitro conditions. Protein analysis referred that, the difference in protein profiles in the examined samples suggests that a real genetic change might have occurred. Obtained results of the inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) revealed variation between the regenerated plants and mother plant while the phytochemical investigation revealed that, 10 phenolic compounds (seven flavones, one flavonol and two phenolic acids) were identified using HPLC analysis and five compounds were detected in the plant for the first time. Genetic characterization and chemical investigation of seeds and in vitro cultures reported herein, is the first report for A. palaestinum.

Key words: Black calla lily, in vitro culture, inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR), sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), isozyme, phenolic compounds.