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Vaccaria hispanica is an interesting species with attractive agronomic properties and a wealth of valuable bioactive compounds, potentially useful for many different purposes. Surprisingly, the number of studies focused on the development of in vitro tools for a rapid production of clonal populations is extremely limited. In the present study, two wild Turkish genotypes, previously characterized as high starch and saponin producers, are used to explore the possibilities of regenerating clonal plants through somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis. This work investigates the independent effects of genotype, type of explant and composition of the culture medium, and the interactions among them, in the growth and proliferation of calli from the explants, and the induction of somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis fron the callus surface. Some of the interactions were found significant to promote these processes. V. hispanica proved to be especially responsive for callus induction from all the explants tested. Particular explant types and combinations of plant growth regulators have been identified as especially suitable to induce the different morphogenic processes. V. hispanica is remarkably prone to produce thin adventitious roots, which may be a problem when trying to induce somatic embryogenesis or shoot organogenesis. However, this can be exploited to develop a convenient system for in vitro secondary metabolite production. Key Message: Vaccaria hispanica has proven to be responsive to callus formation, somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis. Also, it is prone to producing thin adventitious roots important for in vitro secondary metabolite production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most remarkable natural plants is Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert, which has a high economic, medicinal and industrial potential due to its valuable compounds. However, it is mostly an underused plant worldwide. To implement doubled haploid technology in plant breeding programs and exploit its potential, first knowing the particulars of the species is necessary. This study was aimed to explore the androgenic potential of different wild Turkish V. hispanica genotypes collected from different Turkish regions, as a starting point to identify bottlenecks to solve in future studies. As to induction of microspore embryogenesis, nearly all of them responded, with efficiencies reaching 300 embryos/100 buds in some cases. However, we also found three main bottlenecks. First, the presence of foam-producing saponins in flowers prevented an efficient isolation of microspores. Second, embryos showed a reduced ability to germinate. Third, a dense network of hairy roots prevented the formation of a true, fully functional root system. Together, these drawbacks led to the production of very few DH plants. The presence of rhizogenic endophytes may be the cause of most of these problems, which opens the door for possible solutions. Key message: Vaccaria hispanica is a highly responsive species to microspore embryogenesis. However, the two main bottlenecks, possibly caused by endophytes, were the formation of dense abnormal embryos and short hairy roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]