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Linseed is one of the main oil crops, the sawing area of which have expanded significantly in recent years and spread to the areas with a more severe climate. In order to achieve sustainable high yields of appropriate quality, it is necessary to analyze the impact of new climate conditions on the consumer properties of the products obtained. Current paper analyzes the influence of weather conditions of the Northwest of the Russian Federation on the oil fatty acid composition of different linseed cultivars. The content of 16 fatty acids was analyzed by gas chromatography in 20 cultivars and lines from the VIR collection grown in the Leningrad Region in 2016-2018 and characterized by different origins and different oil compositions. The content of 16 fatty acids was analyzed by gas chromatography. It was found that the genotype has practically no effect on the content of acids with short carbon chain (up to C14) and elaidic acid detected in mature seeds. At the same time, drought reduced their fraction in oil up to the point of complete absence. The amount of long-chain acids depended on both the genotype and the cultivation conditions. The fractions of linoleic and linolenic acids were almost totally determined by the genotype. At the same time, we have confirmed the data obtained by other authors reporting that a decrease in air temperature leads to a decrease of the amount of oleic acid and an increase in the fraction of linolenic acid. However, this is true only for the cultivars containing a large amount of linolenic acid, that is, for those bearing dominant alleles of the FAD3A and FAD3B genes that control the last stage of fatty acid desaturation in flax.

Strawberry (Fragaria L.) is one of the commercially valuable berry crops. Strawberries are valued for their attractive appearance and nutritional value, are a low-calorie product and have a low glycemic index. In the industrial production, preference is given to cultivars distinguished by good resistance to pathogens, high yield and transportability. However, probably as a result of breeding aimed at improving these and other characteristics, most industrial cultivars have lost their taste qualities. The use of accelerated breeding methods to improve the taste of strawberry fruits is one of the promising areas. At the first stages of work to accelerate breeding, it is necessary to search for candidate genes that regulate certain qualities. To date, a total of over 2,000 volatile aromatic compounds are known in various fruit crops. The components regulating the sugar-acid index include sugars and organic acids. The review examines a group of genes, including the SWEET gene family, which regulate the transfer of sugars from leaves to fruits in a number of crops. The genes involved in the biosynthesis of sugars, associated with the accumulation of malic acid in fruit trees, citric acid in citrus fruits, as well as genes regulating the basic taste qualities of fruits and berries are considered. The key genes for flavor regulation in strawberry fruits are FaOMT, FaFAD1, and FanAAMT. The regulation of sucrose levels is influenced by the FaSPS, FaPHS1, FaSuc11, and FaSUSY genes, of glucose by FaGlu8 and FaGlu3, and of fructose by FaFRU. The content of citric acid is regulated by the FaMYB5 gene, while that of ascorbic acid is regulated by FaAKR23 and FaGalUR.

Nomenclatural standards of five potato cultivars ‘Vulkan’ (WIR-108746), ‘Gejzer’ (WIR-108747), ‘Kamčatka’ (WIR-108748), ‘Severânin’ (WIR-108749), and ‘Solnyško’ (WIR-108750) bred by the Kamchatka Research Institute of Agriculture (currently a branch of VIR), and six potato cultivars ‘Dačnyj’ (WIR-108751), ‘Kazačok’ (WIR-108752), ‘Morâk’ (WIR-108753), ‘Orion’ (WIR-108755), ‘Posejdon’ (WIR-108756), and ‘Smak’ (WIR-108754) bred by the Federal Scientific Center of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaika, were prepared within the framework of the comprehensive program initiated at the All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) for registering the gene pool of Russian cultivars and preserving them in the institute’s gene bank. Plant material of the cultivars collected by the authors and transferred to VIR for herbarization was also used for DNA extraction, genetic certification, selection of explants and introducing them into the in vitro culture. Genetic passports of 11 cultivars have been developed using eight microsatellite markers and 15 markers associated with R-genes of resistance to various pests. A comparison of microsatellite profiles of nomenclatural standards and accessions of the same name from the VIR in vitro collection confirmed their identity.

Background. The CMS-Rf genetic system based on the PET1-type cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is commonly used to create commercial sunflower (Helianthus annuus) hybrids. The Rf1 gene, of key importance for hybrid breeding, is necessary for restoring pollen fertility in F₁ plants. The molecular genetic markers tested on various genetic materials are an effective tool for identifying parental line genotypes at the Rf1 locus, controlling homogeneity, and determining the genetic purity of hybrid seed lots. In the present study, the allele-specific markers of the Rf1 candidate genes available from literature were used to genotype lines from the VIR sunflower genetic collection and F₂ hybrids. Material and methods. The study concentrated on two sample sets of genotypes, one of which contained 46 lines from the VIR sunflower genetic collection, previously characterized in field experiments for the pollen restoration ability, and the other 80 plants from segregating F₂ populations from crosses of the CMS VIR 116A line with fertility restorers VIR 740 and RIL 130, phenotyped for fertility/sterility. The lines differed in respect of the cytoplasm type and the presence of the SCAR marker HRG02 closely linked to the Rf1 locus. The lines have been genotyped using markers specific for the dominant (PPR621.5R, SRF833, 67N04_P_170) and recessive (PPR621.5M, 67N04_P_155) alleles of the Rf1 candidate genes. The PPR621.5M and PPR621.5 R, marker fragments amplified in six genotypes, have been isolated and sequenced. Results. The nucleotide sequences of PPR621.5M and PPR621.5R turned out to be different in four SNPs and completely identical to those presented in the published literature. The PPR621.5M and 67N04_P_155 markers specific for the rf1 allele were identified in CMS lines and the majority of sterility maintainers. Nineteen out of 21 lines characterized by sterile cytoplasm and the presence of the HRG02 marker had three markers specific for the dominant allele; two lines had two allele-specific markers. Four out of seven fertility restorers (sterile cytoplasm, without the HRG02 marker) were found to contain two or three markers specific for the dominant allele, while three lines had only markers for the recessive allele. The F₂ genotypes resulting from recombination between the SCAR marker HRG02 and allele specific markers were detected. Conclusion. The study confirmed efficiency of allele-specific markers of the Rf1 locus candidate genes for genotyping sunflower lines, as well as their diagnostic value for selecting target genotypes from segregating hybrid populations.

Background. At present, there is no effective technology for the genetic identification of black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) cultivars. Current solutions involve the amplification of genetic markers (microsatellites) in multiple tubes, which is relatively resource-intensive and require optimization. Materials and methods. The existing approaches for the genetic identification of black currant cultivars using microsatellite loci were analyzed. Eight markers located in different linkage groups, namely g1-K04, g2-J08, e4-D03, g2-L17, e3-B02, g1-A01, e1-O01 and g2-G12, were selected. Various combinations of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mix composition, fluorophores, temperature and heating time were tested to find conditions that would allow amplification of these markers in one tube and produce non-overlapping fragment lengths. The method was tested on eight cultivars and further on 33 cultivars from the genetic collection of the Sverdlovsk Selection Station of Horticulture. Results. PCR conditions and fluorophores were chosen to amplify the selected markers in one tube and to get non-overlapping fragment lengths. Genetic profiles of 33 cultivars were obtained, allowing their unambiguous identification. The number of alleles at the selected loci ranged from three to eleven. Conclusion. For the first time, the proposed multiplex reaction makes it possible to assess the variability of eight black currant loci by one-tube multiplex PCR. It is of interest to test the proposed technology on a wide range of black currant cultivars obtained in different regions of the world, as well as on other species of the genus Ribes used in black currant breeding process.

The article presents the results of experiments on the introduction of Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii (F. Schmidt) H. Hara into the in vitro culture using isolated embryos. In nature, the seeds of this species germinate within two years, which is associated with a complex morphophysiological type of dormancy, in which seed germination is preceded by a period of further development of the embryo inside the seed. In order to speed up the production of plantlets, a method of culturing isolated embryos in vitro was used. Embryos were isolated from both mature seeds without stratification and from seeds that had undergone stratification at different temperature conditions. The use of embryos isolated from the non-stratified seeds for the introduction into in vitro culture was shown to be ineffective. In most cases, embryo growth either did not occur at all, or was accompanied by various anomalies; ultimately, the plantlets became necrotic. Embryos that underwent further development after stratification were capable of forming normal plantlets, which were subsequently used for microclonal propagation. The use of transverse segments of the bulb above its stem was found to be most efficient. The development of additional bulb-like structures was observed at the base of sections of the fleshy bases of leaves. After the transfer to the Murashige and Skoog medium with half the content of macro and micro salts, the plantlets formed adventitious roots and normally developed leaves. Additional shoots were successfully used for subsequent micropropagation cycles.

Background. The introducing of the accessions from the field collection into in vitro culture ensures their preservation under controlled environmental conditions. The literature sources offer contradictive information on the seasonal periods considered as the optimal ones for introducing samples of black currant Ribes nigrum L. into in vitro culture. This may be due to both the influence of abiotic factors and the genotypic characters of the accessions, as well as the characteristics of the explants and their cultivation conditions. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the period of buds’ isolation, and of the meteorological factors, such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity, on the results of introducing diverse black currant accessions from the field collection into in vitro culture. Materials and methods. The plant material included 30 black currant accessions from the VIR field collection. In different months of the summer periods of 2019-2022, buds were isolated from annual shoots to introduce them as explants into in vitro culture. All stages of introducing buds into in vitro culture were carried out in accordance with the Methodological Guidelines of VIR. Meteorological data were obtained from the VIR Department of Automated Information Systems for Plant Genetic Resources. The data were statistically processed using the “Statistica 10.0” package. Results. A strong contingency was found between the effectiveness of introducing explants into in vitro culture and the genotype, as well as the month and year in which the buds were selected. Meteorological factors influencing the results of introducing black currant explants into in vitro culture include temperature and air humidity on the day of bud collection and air humidity in the decade before taking explants. The duration of the period from the beginning of plants vegetation in the field collection to the date of bud sampling also had a significant impact on the result of introducing the explant into in vitro culture. Conclusion. In the case of bud selection in June, the proportion of infected explants is significantly lower, and the proportion of viable explants is higher, compared to buds taken in subsequent summer months. For the successful introducing of buds from a field collection into in vitro culture, the optimal weather conditions are low air humidity and relatively high temperature on the day of buds’ collection, as well as low air humidity in the decade before taking buds from plants of the field collection.

During excavations of historical monuments, archaeologists find various artifacts that testify to the existence and everyday life of our distant ancestors. Particular attention is paid to the remains of living organisms. They not only provide evidence of the economic activity of ancient farmers, but also help to identify phylogenetic relationships and domestication processes in the world's centers of diversity. Due to the long-term presence of paleontological objects in the environment that is not conducive to preservation, they often get destroyed and it becomes impossible to determine which species they belong to. Therefore, archaeologists increasingly resort to the help of paleogeneticists. The works on studies of ancient DNA (aDNA) from human and animal remains are known in Russia. However, paleogenetic studies of fossil plant remains such as pollen, seeds, and timber are few. In 2019, carbonized grains of cereal crops were found on the territory of the Usvyaty settlement in Pskov Region. The findings date back to the 12th century. The morphological analysis of the seed mixture resulted in finding grains, the degree of destruction of which prevented determination of the species they belong to by analyzing their microrelief. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop taxon-specific primers that yield a short amplification product for the analysis of fragmented aDNA from the destroyed barley caryopses. As a result, a PCR test named HORDELF was developed, which is recommended for the identification of plant residues (carbonized seeds) belonging to the genus Hordeum L.