Citrus genetic resources including modern and old cultivars, breeding forms and wild genotypes form the basis of the global citrus industry, that is why the preservation of the biodiversity and the creation of duplicate collections all over the world is an important task. In recent decades, there has been a sharp decline in the productivity of citrus commercial plantations in the main citrus-producing countries. The risk of an abrupt reduction in genetic diversity greatly increased because of the accumulated diseases raging there and the spread of these diseases in the neighboring citrus groves. Therefore, the preservation of biodiversity in atypical citrus regions is becoming increasingly important. The aim of this study was to compare the genetic diversity of citrus crops in the basic collections of the three countries (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus), to determine the direction and prospects for the use of available genetic resources, as well as to reveal the main problems of germplasm preservation. The comparative analysis will determine the strategy for further studies on the citrus crops in atypical areas of cultivation. The collection of citrus based in the Russian Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops contains 132 accessions, the collection of the Belarus Botanical Garden contains 100 accessions, the collection of the Grishko National Botanical Garden contains about 60 accessions. The list of species and cultivars of three collections is presented in the article. The main problems of the successful conservation and use of citrus genetic resources are insufficient use of modern tools of germplasm characterization, the absence of a unified web-database containing all available biodiversity, the lack of consensus regarding the taxonomic position of certain genotypes. Additionally, there is a need for disease control in collections, it is necessary to develop advanced test systems for rapid diagnosis of diseases. One more important task is the extension of species diversity through the exchange of material with other foreign collections.

Drought during the wheat vegetative period happens often in West Siberia and Kazakhstan condition. For this reason, varieties with adaptation to climatic zones, drought tolerance and high stability have high importance. The breeding efficiency and rates depend on the amount of information on genotypes in every study cycle. The aim of this study was to screen breeding material in Siberian and Kazakhstan research institutes from KASIB nurseries for drought tolerance and to develop a drought tolerant pool. For the evaluation of genotypes, it is necessary to study them in diverse condition. The basic purpose of the present work is to study breading material of durum wheat from KASIB institutions at different ecological sites. In 2000–2015, durum wheat entries in the Kazakhstan-Siberian program were studied. Progress in durum wheat breeding was tested in Russian and Kazakhstan institutes. Entries were screened for drought tolerance, yield and yield stability. They have value for including in hybridization for developing varieties with adaptation to Siberian and Kazakhstan conditions. The following varieties and lines are recommended for breading for drought tolerance: 383-МС, 452-МС, Каrgala 303, Каrgala 447, Каrgalа 24, Каrgala 1515/06, Каrgala 1516/06, Каrgala 69, Каrgala 1538, Каrgalа 1540, Каrgalа 1539, Kargalа 1671, Каrgalа 1411 (Акtubinsk Agricultural Experimental Station), Hordeiforme 91-25-5, Hordeiforme 91-22-2, Jemthujina Sibiri, Hordeiforme 94-94-13, Hordeiforme 98-42-1, Hordeiforme 01-121-3, Hordeiforme 02-156-1 (Siberian Research Agricultural Institute), Аltin schigis, Аltin dala, Line Г1549 (Каrabalyk Experimental Station), Hordeiforme 373, Hordeiforme 627 (Altai Research Agricultural Institute), 17394, 18053, Nauriz-6 (Кazakh Research-Production Center of Agriculture and Plant Growing), Коllektivnaya 2, ТС-15 (Kurgan Research Agricultural Institute), Line 653d-4 (Sаmara Research Agricultural Institute).

Monitoring of pathogen populations is important for successful genetic wheat protection against leaf rust and identification of pathotypes with virulence to the resistance genes used. The aim of this work was analysis of Puccinia triticina populations in the Chelyabinsk region for virulence and studying the effectiveness of Lr-genes at the field for improving and stabilization of genetic protection from wheat leaf rust in the Southern Urals. Infection materials were collected in the experimental field of the Сhelyabinsk Research Institute of Agriculture from breeding lines, commercial and perspective wheat varieties in 2014–2016. In total, 383 single pustule isolates were studied: 180 in 2014, 131 in 2015, and 72 in 2016. The Lr24 gene was characterized as highly effective. The single isolate virulent to ТсLr19 line was revealed only in 2014. Isolates virulent to the Lr9 gene occurred annually both on the varieties carrying this gene and those without it, and all of them were characterized by avirulence to the Lr26 gene. According to the Nei index (N), no significant differences in virulence were revealed between Chelyabinsk populations in 2014–2016. 27 virulence phenotypes were determined using 20 TcLr-lines. The phenotypes TQTTR and TGTTR avirulent to lines ТсLr19, ТсLr24, ТсLr26 and ТсLr9, ТсLr19, ТсLr24, ТсLr26, respectively, were common in 2014–2016. The results on the effectiveness of Lr-genes at the seedling stage correlated with estimates for Thatcher Lr-lines, breeding materials and varieties with known Lr-genes grown at the field on the breeding nursery of the Сhelyabinsk Research Institute of Agriculture. The highly effective genes Lr24, Lr25, Lr28, Lr29, Lr37 and some others were found to have promise for use in wheat breeding in the Ural. The use of these genes and combination of these genes with non-effective ones will allow the genetic diversity of new wheat varieties to be increased and the fungus populations to be stabilized. By now, at the field conditions in the Ural region, the effective combinations of Lr-genes revealed are Lr9+Lr19, Lr9+Lr26, Lr9+Lr37, Lr9+Lr10+Lr26, and Lr9+Lr26+Lr37.

The diversity of triticale Vrn genes influencing the duration of the interphase period “shoots–earing” and the total length of the growing period of plants is lesser than that of wheat. For its diversification and breading purposes, hybrids were made by using the original parental forms – an original collection of isogenic lines of octaploid triticale with different Vrn genes, as well as by using breeding lines of hexaploid triticale and a winter variety, Sirs 57.

The aim of this work was to conduct a comparative study of the duration of the interphase period “shoots–earing” in the initial parental forms and triticale F3 hybrids having different combinations of pairs of the dominant genes Vrn-A1, Vrn-B1, Vrn-D1 and Vrn-D4. It is shown that, according to the strength of the phenotype expression of the gene pairs (the shorter the interphase period “shoots–earing”, the stronger the activity of the genes), octaploid hybrids ranged as following: (VrnA1×VrnD1) ≥ (VrnB1×VrnD1) ≥ (VrnA1×VrnD4) = (VrnA1×VrnВ1) > (VrnD1×VrnD4), and the hybrids between octaploid and hexaploid triticales have the following order: (VrnD1×Sirs 57) > (VrnВ1×Sirs 57) ≥ (VrnD4×Sirs 57/2/4) > (VrnВ1×Tsekad 90/5). At the level of expression of the dominant genes, the hybrids obtained from the crosses of different levels of ploidy did not differ from the original maternal octaploid forms. The combination of two dominant genes in the hybrids, except for the combination VrnD1×VrnD4, in homozygous or heterozygous state in the genotype of plants shortened the interphase period “shoots–earing” in comparison with the parental forms and the joint action of the VrnA1 and VrnD1 genes resulted in the emergence of plants with the shortest interphase period in comparison with all triticale forms studied. 

The article describes the theoretical basis of ecological breeding. A critical analysis of the definition of this term and the theoretical foundations of ecological breeding, as a method of selection of genotype-environmental hereditary factors are presented. Two main types of the organization of ecological breeding are in focus: shuttle breeding actualized in CIMMYT and the All-Russian Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding and Seed Production (VNIISSOK), and conjugate breeding developed under such programs as “Ekada”, “Clover”, “Lucerne” and “Arid cultures”. The methodological approaches used in conjugate breeding are described in details. It is illustrated that ecological breeding can be represented by three modules: the formation of an artificial ecological gradient (ecological vector), the actual selection of genotypes with a wide norm of reaction (selection for homeoadaptability) and the organization of movement of the breeding material along the ecological vector. The practical implementation of ecological selection of the “conjugate selection” type was shown with the “Ekada” program as an example. The ecological vector of the program consists of six points arranged in historical breeding centers of the Volga-Ural region characterized by varying strength of factors that limit the growth and development of plants. The organizational scheme of selection lies in parallel testing pooled breeding material at all points of the ecological vector and isolating the most compliant lines. In this case, information, not genotypes, is what is transferred along the ecological gradient, in contrast to “shuttle selection”. The result of the work of the creative team “Ekada” was the development of series of spring wheat strains (e.g. Ekada 6, Ekada 70, Ekada 66, Ekada 109, Ekada 113), which were recommended for use in agricultural production.

It is necessary to know the combining ability of starting material for effective breeding to create varieties. The research aim was to determine the peculiarities of the general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) and the ratio of their variances for awned and awnless varieties and their parental forms in F1. The study was conducted in 2014–2015. Spring barley varieties and their parental forms were used in direct diallel crosses. In 2014–2015, peculiarities of the combining ability of awned and awnless spring barley varieties and their parental forms were determined in F1. We highlighted varieties with strong GCA effects: ‘Badioryy’ for plant productivity; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’, ‘Vitrazh’ and ‘Maliovnychyy’ for grain number per spike; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’, ‘Etiket’, ‘Granal’, ‘Modern’, ‘Vitrazh’, and ‘Tolar’ for 1000-grain weight; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Granal’, and ‘Vitrazh’ for spike length; ‘Dzherelo’ and ‘Maliovnychyy’ for spikelet number per spike; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’ and ‘Granal’ for plant height; ‘Zvershennya’ and ‘Badioryy’ for productive tillering; ‘Zvershennya’ and ‘Badioryy’ for total tillering; and ‘Badioryy’ for straw weight. These varieties had the largest numbers of genes that positively determine these traits. The level of combining ability of parental forms may be manifested differently in varieties created via hybridization of them. GCA variances exceeded SCA variances in ‘Zvershennya’ in 2014–2015 for the trait “1000-grain weight” (GCA – 4.20 and 4.03, respectively; SCA – 3.78 and 3.84, respectively), therefore, it is determined mainly by additive gene effects. Strong and weak SCA effects were observed for plant productivity (grain weight) and its structural components (productive tillering, grain number per spike, 1000-grain weight). Strong SCA effects were the most numerous for the trait “1000-grain weight.”

In the structure of the global commodity supply in the food market in modern conditions it is necessary to note the emergence of a broad group of new high-tech products, and specialized functional food with high value added. The creation of varieties with a high content of flavonoids (plant compounds that can have a positive effect on human health) is one of the important directions of plant breeding oriented on the functional foods development. Currently, however, there is a significant gap between the well-studied role of flavonoids and the genetic control of their synthesis, on the one hand, and development of the actual product of wheat with new properties, evaluation of the nutritional value of the end-use bakery products for consumption, on the other hand. In the present study we produced and investigated bakery products from wheat synthesizing bioflavonoid pigments anthocyanins in the grain pericarp. The grains of this wheat have dark purple color. Red-grained bread wheat was a control. These two wheat lines have almost similar genomes with the exception of a small part of chromosome 2A, which contains the Pp3/TaMyc1 gene regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. The use of such an accurate model has allowed relating the observed differences precisely with anthocyanin biosynthesis. The important task was to evaluate the resistance of anthocyanins to the backing process. Therefore anthocyanin content was evaluated not only in the end-use product, but also in mixtures of flour and bran used for baking and separately in the bran. As a result, significant differences were detected in samples obtained from purple grains, compared with the control including the products that had passed a full processing cycle, including baking at elevated temperature. For the extraction of anthocyanins conditions were simulated most similar to those in the process of digestion in the stomach, in order to assess the amount of assimilable anthocyanins. By our estimates one can get up to 1.03 mg of assimilable anthocyanins with 100 g of whole-grained bread produced from anthocyanincolored grains. With 100 g of bran, the body will get up to 3.32 g of anthocyanins. In parallel with the evaluation of the anthocyanins content in all samples, the mass fraction of antioxidants was measured by using the amperometric method. The highest antioxidant capacity was shown for bran, while the least one was demonstrated for flour. Adding bran to the flour as well as the backing process increased the antioxidant capacity of wheat products. The contribution of anthocyanins to increased antioxidant capacity is not significant. It was shown that bread-making quality and organoleptic properties of bakery products made from anthocyanin-colored grains did not concede, or in some cases were higher than the corresponding properties of products obtained from control NIL grains. It was found that the presence of anthocyanin increases the shelf life of bakery products and their resistance to molding in provocative conditions. These results, combined with the known data about the beneficial health effects of anthocyanins, suggest that wheat bakery products made from anthocyanin-rich grains can be included to the list for dietary food. Marker-assisted selection accelerating the creation of new forms of crops with a high level of flavonoids can be proposed as a new direction for the expansion of domestic and export grain market potential due to the new possibilities of obtaining products of increased nutritional value and making a good profit.

An effective system of micropropagation and in vitro conservation of the West Sayan endemic Fritillaria sonnikovae Schaulo et A. Erst was developed and the genetic stability of regenerants after slow-growth storage was assessed. The efficiency of bulb scale segments as primary explants was established. The optimum nutrient medium for stages of in vitro culture initiation and multiplication was BDS supplemented with BAP (5.0 µM) and NAA (2.0 µM). The microplant collection was maintained in active-growth (+23±2 °С) and slow-growth (+7 °С) conditions. The period of subculturing at +7 °С was prolonged to 9–12 months when microclones of F. sonnikovae were transferred to slowgrowth conditions. Assessment of microplant regeneration potential in further cultivation of bulb scales on BDS nutrient medium supplemented with BAP (5.0 µM) and NAA (2.0 µM) revealed a stimulating effect of conservation at low temperatures: the regeneration rate reached 93 % and the number of bulblets per explant was 6.9±1.7 at the first passage after slow-growth storage. However, further cultivation led to decrease of shoot development, and the regeneration rate reached the level before slow-growth storage at the third passage. The genetic fidelity of regenerants obtained during direct organogenesis at the first passage after slow-growth storage (12 months) was established by analysis of ISSR-PCR-fragments.

Many of the extant Felidae species are endangered or vulnerable. Others being not endangered as a whole species contain endangered subspecies. Only a very few cat species, besides domestic cats, are not in the risk group. Cryopreservation of embryos and gametes is a modern approach for ex situ mammalian genetic resources conservation. Freezing of semen has been successfully applied to the domestic cat and to more than 25 wild members of this family. However, embryos/oocytes cryopreservation was successful for only a small number of felids. Domestic cat and four wild Felidae species produced offspring after cryopreservation and subsequent embryo transfer. Regarding freezing of oocytes, so far different cryopreservation methods are still being experimentally tried exclusively for domestic cat. Genome Resource Bank (GRB) containing frozen semen of Amur leopard cat, bobcat and Eurasian lynx was established at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Novosibirsk. As a result of this project, original methods of feline semen freezing have been developed; embryos of domestic cat have been successfully frozen as well. Approaches to freeze domestic cat’s oocytes have also been tried. During this work, we combined biological and physical methods. In particular, the process of freezing embryos and oocytes was monitored with Raman spectroscopy. Different methods of frozen-thawed spermatozoa and embryonic viability testing were used in this study, including vital staining and subsequent fluorescent and light microscopy, and heterologous in vitro fertilization.

The weight of newborn piglets in domestic pigs depends on the maternal environment. Using an original algorithm based on the comparison of the coefficients of correlation between the half-nests (the same average genotype and the same conditions of the embryonic environment) and the twin sockets (the same genotype, different conditions of the embryonic environment), it was possible to estimate the relative contribution of the various components to the weight of the newborn in the domestic pigs. Our investigation found that the relative contribution of environmental conditions during prenatal development into newborn weight variation is equal to 0.4717, the contribution of genotypic component is 0.4032; the contribution of interaction between environmental conditions and ambivalence of the “genotype–phenotype” relationships is 0.0846, indeterminacy of phenotypic realization of the littermate’s genotypes is 0.0405. Maternal resource plays the main role amongst factors forming the environmental conditions of prenatal development. The gene pool will remain unchanged in any number of generations, despite a change in the population parameters of the trait. In principle, it can be assumed that when a population reaches a certain level, when the mean value of the trait and the gene pool are optimal (the selection pressure vectors are mutually balanced), selection becomes less effective in transforming the average phenotype than changing environmental conditions. Obviously, therefore, livestock maintenance and feeding are paid as much attention as breeding, and breeds of farmed animals are zoned.

The role of glutathione S-transferase for the life of the cell and the entire organism is related to their participation in the processes of detoxification of xenobiotics and antioxidant protection. Genetic variability of glutathione S-transferases appears in the form of different enzymatic activity of the corresponding protein products. In this study, a comparative analysis was conducted on the frequency of genotypes of three genes in the glutathione S-transferases gene superfamily (GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1) from representatives of two ethnic groups, Russian and Buryat. To this end, genetic typing of DNA samples was performed by polymerase chain reaction. Statistically significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of alleles A, B, C of the GSTP1 gene (р = 0.026) were found between the groups of teenagers compared. It was found that the frequency of the allele A, which codes for the active variant enzyme, is significantly higher in the Buryat ethnic group (p = 0.012). The allele B, the product of which is a “slow” version of the enzyme, was significantly more common in the Russian ethnic group (p = 0.014). In the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, no statistically significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of “zero” and “functional” genotypes between the compared groups of teenagers were found. However, there was a tendency to increase in the frequency of the “zero” genotype of the GSTM1 gene in the Russian ethnic group. In addition, the frequency of the “zero” genotype in two genes GSTM1 and GSTT1 at once was almost two times higher in the Russian ethnic group than in the Buryat ethnic group.

Ischemic stroke is caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain and a risk factor for death and disability. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified more than 40 common sequence variants associated with ischemic stroke. However, the results are not always the same in populations with different genetic backgrounds. In the present study, we evaluated a hypothesis that a North Asian population living in a geographic area with unusually harsh environmental conditions would develop unique genetic risks. We investigated the candidate genes for ischemic stroke and risk factors in a Chinese Mongolian population which has not been explored previously. A total of 167 stroke cases and 176 controls were included in the study. Genotyping was performed by amplicon sequencing. The association was detected with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within genes NINJ2 (rs12425791) and ALDH2 (rs2238151) as well as intergenic rs9536591 were significantly associated with ischemic stroke, of which SNP rs12425791 of the NINJ2 gene was the strongest association. ALDH2 gene encodes mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase, involved in the oxidative pathway of alcohol metabolism. Sex, age, body mass index and high blood pressure might be the risk factors. The current work also demonstrated genetic heterogeneity exists between Chinese and other populations. Our study provided the new insights into the genetic basis and environmental factors of ischemic stroke in Mongolian population.

Eisenia nordenskioldi (Eisen, 1879) is the most widespread earthworm species in Siberia. It inhabits a wide range of habitats, from tundra to forest steppe, and is characterized by high morphological, ecological, and karyotypic diversity. E. nordenskioldi is usually divided into two subspecies, the pigmented E. n. nordenskioldi and the unpigmented E. n. pallida; a set of Eisenia species with a close diagnosis was also isolated from E. nordenskioldi in the last fifty years. This high diversity makes this species a promising model for studying earthworm speciation and evolution. In this study, we review all available information on the genetic and ecological diversity of E. nordenskioldi, including our published and unpublished data, as well as studies of other authors. We demonstrate that each subspecies of E. nordenskioldi (E. n. nordenskioldi and E. n. pallida) can be divided into several genetic lineages based on differences in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. The studied lineages diverged several million years ago, and population groups within each lineage, hundreds of thousands years ago. We report distributions and genetic patterns for each of the detected genetic lineages. Subspecies E. n. nordenskioldi and E. n. pallida are most probably non-monophyletic, and the pigmentation character is labile and possibly independently evolved in different lineages. We also propose hypotheses on the interplay of its observed genetic diversity with morphological and ecological variation, as well as on the relationships of E. nordenskioldi with certain species of the genus Eisenia. Based on the available information, we attempt to present a general outlook on E. nordenskioldi genetic structure and further directions of its study.

The intron of the chloroplast rps16 gene encoding ribosomal protein 16S belongs to group II introns, which have the capacity to self-splice. The sequence of this intron may be quite polymorphic and is widely used for molecular-genetic studies of different plant families. But regions of the intron important for splicing and organization of the pre-mRNA secondary structure in Rosaceae species including the genus Malus have not yet been described.

The aim of the work was to characterize the nucleotide sequences of the rps16 gene intron, to study their polymorphism and to identify the individual structural elements of the intron determining the correct splicing of the rps16 gene in Malus species and related Rosaceae species. Nucleotide sequences of the rps16 chloroplast gene group II intron from 32 Malus species and 17 related Rosaceae species were amplified, sequenced and their polymorphism was analyzed. The rps16 intron sequence in the genus Malus appeared to be very conservative (1.5 %), as well as in Prunus species, the level of the rps16 intron polymorphism was slightly higher (2.25 %). In the studied sequences the boundaries of the six functional domains typical of group II introns and IBS/EBS binding sites were identified. Variability of all the domains and inter-domain regions was studied. Domains V and VI were the most conservative, which may be due to their role in the positioning of the pre-mRNA structures and formation of the catalytically active secondary structure. Thus, polymorphism of the rps16 gene intron was for the first time studied in Malus species and related Rosaceae species. The boundaries of all six functional domains typical of group II introns and IBS/EBS binding sites were identified. The most conservative were domains V and VI.