Conservation of Hyoscyamus boveanus Asch. & Schweinf. as a rare plant endemic to Egypt

With increasing world population and potential climate changes, there is a growing 
awareness for conservation and sustainable use of the world natural resources for maintaining 
biological diversity. Advances in biotechnology have generated new opportunities for the 
conservation of genetic resources. A preliminary investigation to study the genetic diversity among 
wild individuals of Hyoscyamus boveanus collected from different sites of Saint Katherine was 
estimated for obtaining primary information to protect our patency and quality assurance of this 
endemic plant. The estimated level of polymorphism using 19 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) 
markers was 20.9%. DNA barcode analysis was used for characterization, identification, and 
registration of H. boveanus. The matK, rbcL and rpoC1 sequences in H. boveanus were recorded 
in NCBI GenBank with accession numbers of MK189190, MK189191, and MK189192, 
respectively. Micropropagation of this plant was also another objective of the present research to 
find an alternative way to conserve and produce large numbers of this rare medicinal plant. Shoot 
tips and stem nodal segments from seedlings were used as explants for micropropagation. 
Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with 0.5 mg l-1 kinetin (Kn) and 0.5 mg l-1 α
naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) was the most promising medium for both explants for shoot 
initiation and multiplication. The highest rooting percentage (80%) and the highest number of 
roots were obtained on half strength MS medium fortified with 1 mg l-1 each of NAA and indole-3
butyric acid (IBA). The rooted plantlets were successfully transferred to the greenhouse and 
exhibited a normal development.