PhD Degree Awarded to Ms. Fathiya Noaman in Plant Tissue Culture

Ms. Fathiya Mohammed Noaman Salam was awarded a PhD degree in Plant Tissue Culture for her dissertation titled: Biological Studies on Micropropagation of Wild Pulicaria Gaertn Species Grown in Ibb Governorate- Yemen, which was submitted to the Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science – Sana’a University. The dissertation defense was held on Monday, August 16, 2025.

The PhD Viva-Voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following:

#	Committee Members	Designation	Position
1	Prof. Aziza Musleh Taj Al-Deen,	Internal Examiner	Chair
2	Assoc. Prof. Fatima A. Mohammed Al-Haddi	Main Supervisor	Member
3	Assoc. Prof. Mohammed Mansour Saif	External Examiner	Member

The study aimed to:

Develop a micropropagation protocol for the Pulicaria ‎ plant using the MS medium with various concentrations and types of plant hormones and salts to induce shoot, root, and callus formation.
Examine the phytochemical compounds present in the parent plant and in the callus using solvents of differing polarity.
Compare the active compounds and their concentrations between the parent plant and the callus through GC-MS analysis.

The dissertation yielded the following findings:

The seeds were the plant parts that responded best to proliferation in the MS medium and were the first to produce callus.
Different concentrations of plant growth hormones, particularly high auxin and low cytokinin ratios, were used.
Both the ethanolic and hexane extracts of the parent Pulicaria plant and its callus contained numerous biologically active metabolites.
The callus extracts included certain compounds not found in the parent plant.

In light of these findings, the researcher recommended the following:

Employing tissue culture and micropropagation techniques to preserve the genetic resources of native plant species.
Conducting further experiments on induced callus cultures derived from tissue culture.
Using solvents with different polarities on the mother plant and callus developed.
Applying alternative analytical methods to identify bioactive compounds in both the parent plant and the callus.

The dissertation defense was attended by a number of academics, researchers, specialists, students, colleagues, and the researcher’s family.