Cuneyt Aki

DNA barcoding in native plants of the Labiatae (Lamiaceae) family from Chios Island (Greece) and the adjacent Çeşme-Karaburun Peninsula (Turkey).

The plant family Labiatae (Lamiaceae) is known for its fine medicinal and aromatic herbs like lavender, mint, oregano, sage and thyme and is a rich source of essential oils for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Besides its great economic importance, the Labiatae family contributes significantly to the endemic flora of Greece and Turkey. Owing to its economic and biological significance and to the difficult identification based on morphological characters of several of its taxa, the Labiatae family is an ideal case for developing DNA barcodes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of DNA barcoding on a local scale in discriminating Labiatae species in Chios Island (Greece) and the adjacent Çeşme‐Karaburun Peninsula (Turkey). We chose three cpDNA regions (matK, rbcL, trnH‐psbA) that were proposed by previous studies and tested them either as single region or as multiregion barcodes based on the criteria determined by Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL). Our results show that matK and trnH‐psbA taken as useful in discriminating species of the Labiatae, for the species we examined, as any multiregion combination. matK and trnH‐psbA could serve as single‐region barcodes for Labiatae species contributing to the conservation and the trade control of valuable plant resources.

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Some Endemic Verbascum., Sideritis., and Stachys. Species from Turkey

Abstract Methanol extracts obtained from endemic Verbascum pseudoholotrichum. Hub.-Mor., Verbascum cymigerum. Hub.-Mor., Verbascum cholorostegium. Bornm. & Murb., Verbascum linguifolium. Hub.-Mor., Verbascum pellitum. Hub.-Mor., Sideritis brevidens. P.H. Davis, Sideritis cilicica. Boiss. & Bal., Sideritis vuralii. H. Duman & Baser, Stachys aleurites. Boiss. & Heldr., and Stachys pinardii. Boiss. have been investigated for their antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial activity was determined with Escherichia coli. ATCC 11230, Staphylococcus aureus. ATCC 6538P, Klebsiella pneumoniae. UC57, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ATCC 27853, Proteus vulgaris. ATCC 8427, Bacillus cereus. ATCC 7064, Mycobacterium smegmatis. CCM 2067, Listeria monocytogenes. ATCC 15313, Micrococcus luteus. CCM 169, Candida albicans. ATCC 10231, Rhodotorula rubra. DSM 70403, and Kluyveromyces fragilis. ATCC 8608 by the disk diffusion method. Verbascum. L. extracts had strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast cultures. The extracts of Stachys. L. were effective only against bacteria. The extracts of Sideritis. L. demonstrated antimicrobial effects against the bacteria and the yeast cultures used in this study.

Direct shoot organogenesis of Digitalis trojana Ivan., an endemic medicinal herb of Turkey

An efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of Digitalis trojana Ivan. was developed via adventitious shoot regeneration. Leaf explants were cultured on MS which were supplemented with different concentrations of NAA (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/ml) and BAP (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg/ml) for shoot formation. Adventitious shoots were formed on leaf explants within three weeks in culture. The best shoot proliferation was observed among explants cultured on MS medium with 0.1 mg/ml NAA + 3.0 mg/ml BAP. Regenerated shoots were multiplicated by subculture. Then they were cultured on MS with 0.1% (w/v) activated charcoal for root formation. All of the in vitro regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized ex vitro and then grown healthy.

Dodin fungusitinin Vicia faba L. bitkisinde total protein miktarı ve peroksidaz aktivitesi üzerine etkisi

This research was to evaluate the effects of dodine on the physiology of Vicia faba L. through total protein content and peroxidase (POX) activity . According to this, four weeks old seedlings were treated with 0.04 mL/L, 0.08 mL/L and 0.16 mL/L concentrations of dodine. Then, the leaves of plant samples were harvested with 24, 48 and 72 hours intervals. Our results have showed that while the total protein content were decreased significantly, POX activity was increased with the increased concentration of dodine and exposure time when compared with control seedlings. This research have shown that dodine can stimulate the plant defense system.