The Altai endemic <i>Sibiraea altaiensis</i> (Laxm.) Schneid.: possible use and methods of conservation

Abstract

The article provides a review of data on the Altai endemic Sibiraea altaiensis (Laxm.) Schneid., one of the archaic species of the genus Sibiraea Maxim. The species is included in the Red Books of the Altai Republic, the Altai Territory, and of Kazakhstan as a rare species, whose numbers are decreasing, mostly due to the influence of anthropogenic factors in its habitats. At the same time, S. altaiensis belongs to agriculturally important species, which is valued for its decorative, medicinal and other useful properties. The species is reproduced by seed, layering shoots, root and summer stem cuttings; however, these methods do not always give good results, and also require large areas for growing plants and are confined to a certain season of the year.Microclonal propagation of plants can become a promising method for the propagation and conservation of S. altaiensis. It consists in the use of in vitro techniques of rapid asexual production of plants that are genetically identical to the original specimen, with a significant saving of time and space required for growing planting material. The use of microcloning for the conservation and reproduction of rare and endangered species is highly justified, since it allows a significant increase in the reproduction rate of plant species, which are difficult or impossible to reproduce vegetatively, or those with low viability or seed productivity.Using in vitro protocols for the propagation of S. altaiensis, 10-28 microshoots were obtained from one lateral bud, which was used as an explant, when cultivated on a modified and a classic Murashige and Skoog (MS) nutrient media supplemented with 1.0 mgL-1 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP). These works confirm that in vitro cloning ensures a high reproduction rate of S. altaiensis and, thus, makes it possible to preserve the gene pool of the species and obtain planting material on a commercial scale without causing damage to natural populations.