Integrated application of biotechnological tools in threatened species from Valencian coastal environments:

scientific foundations for the conservation and recovery of Narcissus perezlarae Font Quer, Thymus webbianus Rouy, Aristolochia clematitis L., and Asplenium marinum L.

Coastal environments constitute a complex and dynamic group of ecosystems that are essential for the proper maintenance of the shoreline and for homeostasis between the maritime–terrestrial coastal zone and the strictly marine environment. Moreover, due to the diversity and uniqueness of these habitats, they host a large number of exclusive plant species, including a remarkable number of rare, endemic and/or threatened plants, especially in regions of the Western Mediterranean. These ecosystems—and the species that develop within them—are among the most threatened on the planet due to the synergy of various factors intrinsic to plants (limited geographic distribution, small population size, reproductive problems, etc.) and others extrinsic to their biology (for example, those derived from climate change), as well as complete destruction and transformation for agricultural, mining, urban, recreational or tourism purposes, and the spread of invasive alien species, among others.

In this context, the conservation of rare, endemic and/or threatened species can benefit from the use of biotechnological tools based on in vitro tissue culture. This is the case for several species present in coastal areas of the Valencian territory and protected in threatened-flora lists at regional, national and even international levels, as is the case with Thymus webbianus Rouy. For some years now, molecular techniques have complemented classical approaches (based on morphological characterization) in determining the stability of material propagated through in vitro culture, which is necessary to ensure the uniformity of the plant material produced (and potentially reintroduced into natural populations) with respect to wild material.

On the other hand, analytical chemistry techniques can also serve as good markers of the physiological status and overall stability of the material produced. Therefore, their combined use with morphological and molecular markers could help ensure the success of species recovery programs based on the in vitro culture protocols developed.

For all these reasons, this project proposes the ex situ conservation and recovery of threatened Valencian coastal plant species through the application of biotechnological tools.

Call: IX. Grants for emerging research groups. Regional Ministry of Education, Culture and Universities (Generalitat Valenciana).

Reference: CIGE/2024/235

Funding: €19,726

Research team: Jorge Juan Vicedo (PI), Atanas Pavlov (external), Vasil Georgiev (external), Esther Asensio (external collaborator)

Implementation period: 01/09/2025 to 01/09/2027