The annual  legume  crop clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba  (L.) Taub.) is a promising  crop for cultivation  in the south of Russia. In 2018, phytosanitary examinations of clusterbean fields (13 collection accessions) were conducted in five VIR branches (Krasnodar Territory, Dagestan,  Astrakhan and Volgograd Regions). At all points,  several types of leaf spots were observed on clusterbean leaves and symptoms of plant damage by fungi of the genus  Alternaria Nees prevailed.  Using microbiological  methods and  Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) of the  nuclear  ribosomal internal  transcribed spacer  two (ITS2), the  species  composition of micromycetes was identified.  It was found  that the  micromycetes Alternaria spp. in different  ecological  and  geographical conditions of the  south  of Russia cause two main types of leaf spots: the typical (beige and brown round spots, usually accompanied by concentric zonality) and brown  spot (small brown  bulging  merging spots). Overwhelmingly  the damage to leaf tissues is caused  by the fungus  A. tenuissima (Nees & T. Nees : Fr.) Wiltshire. A quite  numerous accompanying mycoflora (first of all, fungi of the genus  Fusarium Link) was also detected. A. cyamopsidis Rangaswami & A.V. Rao, one of the most  harmful guar pathogens in the countries  where the main acreage is located  (India, Pakistan, USA), was not found on clusterbean fields in Russia. The accessions  of clusterbean differ in degree of damage by A. tenuissima that causes Alternaria leaf blight. Differential interaction of parasite  and plant  host was revealed.  Therefore, to prevent epiphytotics, varieties protected by non-identical resistance genes  should  be grown.  At all VIR branches, accessions  k-52568 (Argentina) and k-52569 (Pakistan) were weakly damaged by Alternaria leaf blight, and some  accessions  were resistant only in the environmental conditions of one or two experimental stations. The accessions  studied were heterogeneous  in pathogen resistance,  which  allows selecting  disease-resistant lines from most  of the  collection  accessions.  Thus, in various VIR branches, plants  without symptoms of disease  were selected from accessions  k-52571, k-52573 and k-52580, and seeds were collected to create new donors of disease resistance.

Flax rust, a disease  that  destroyed a significant portion  of the yield before  the creation  of resistant varieties, is currently defeated, but it can cause new outbreaks as identical resistance genes  are used in breeding. Since only one of the allelic genes  can be introduced into a variety, the aim of this work is to identify genes  for resistance to the disease  in lines selected during  the evaluation of old Russian flaxes from the VIR collection. The original accessions  were  added to  the  collection  in 1922, that  is, before  the  release  of breeding varieties,  so  their genes  are of natural  origin. The analysis was performed on an artificial infectious  background by methods of classical genetics,  including the test for allelism. Nine monogenic lines with the original R genes  were crossed to tester  varieties for six loci: K, L, M, N, P, and Q. F2 hybrids in the phase  of cotyledon leaves were inoculated with monopustule clones  of the  fungus,  not  virulent  to any of evaluated genes.  Gene allelism was checked  by the absence of the segregation. It was exactly proven  that  R genes  of the k-716 line from the Pskov kryazh (gc-32) and  the  k-780 accession  from the  Minsk oblast  (gc-33) were located  in the  P locus, the  gene  of the  k-846 line from the Ivanovo-Voznesensk oblast (gc-39) was in the M locus, and the gene of the k-834 line from the Vladimir oblast (gc-38) probably belonged to the K locus. The segregation in the crosses of all testers to the k-630 line from the Simbirsk oblast (gc-25) showed that  its gene  was not allelic to any of the known loci. Probably, there  was a formerly unknown locus. The location of the other genes  failed to be identified due to the linkage between loci N and P and the presence of several resistance genes  in some lines. The gene in gc-9 was in either M or K locus; and the genes  of gc-34, gc-40, and gc-46 were located in P or K. Since all the evaluated genes  were original, the genes of these lines were different alleles of the identified loci.

Cruciferous plants  belonging to the  genus  Brassica of the  Cabbage family (Brassicaceae) are cultivated  as vegetables, oilseeds and forage crops; they occupy one of the first places in Russia in the gross yield of vegetables. The yield of cabbage crops is adversely affected  by various pathogens, including bacterial, viral and fungal infections. The diseases such as black rot of cabbage (caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris), downy mildew (caused by Hyaloperonospora parasitica), Turnip Mosaic Virus (TuMV) are not included  in the list of quarantine diseases  in the territory of the Russian Federation and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), but they can affect a part of the sown area and lead to significant (up to 100 %) crop losses. The development of cultivars resistant to these  pathogens is an important trend  in Brassica crop breeding in addition  to existing methods of agrotechnical and chemical protection. The development of molecular  marker techniques and marker-assisted selection  (MAS) methods makes it possible  to significantly increase  the efficiency of breeding resistant cabbage cultivars. The review contains  information on the currently  known  genes  and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance to black rot, downy mildew, and TuMV. Molecular mapping data for resistance genes  of Brassica species are shown. The molecular markers (RFLP, AFLP, SSR, EST, SNP, InDel, SLAF and others) closely linked to the resistance loci and SCAR-, STS- and dCAPS-markers derived from them  for molecular screening are listed. The use of the markers reviewed  to assess  the  Brassica accessions  and  lines can help  the  researchers in finding  sources  and  donors  of pathogen resistance of cabbage crops.

Species of the genus  Lathyrus L. are known as forage and medicinal plants, widely used in traditional medicine  and homeopathy. The content of protein,  essential  amino  acids and  carotene in their green  biomass  is higher  than  in other  annual  leguminous plants  traditionally  cultivated  in Russia. Until now, the requirements for the crop’s quality were reduced to a high content of protein  and dry matter in seeds  and herbage. In-depth biochemical  analysis of accessions  from the collection of plant genetic resources  will significantly improve  selection  of source materials  for breeding. Such tasks can be solved  using  gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in plant  diversity studies. In view of the above,  our goal was to analyze organic  acids, free amino  acids and secondary metabolites in green biomass  of Lathyrus to facilitate comprehensive assessment of its forage  and  pharmacological value. We analyzed 32 accessions  of Lathyrus sativus L., L. tuberosus L., L. sylvestris L., L. vernus (L.) Bernh., L. latifolius L. and  L. linifolius (Reichard) Bassler from the collection of the Vavilov Institute (VIR). The studied Lathyrus accessions had significant interspecific and intraspecific variability both in the composition (presence)  and number of the identified compounds. The analysis of plants across different years confirmed that biochemical parameters depended on weather conditions. The colder and drier conditions of 2012 contributed to the accumulation of organic acids (mean: 890 mg/100 g), free amino acids (mean: 201.59 mg/100 g), and secondary metabolites (mean: 84.14 mg/100 g). The range of variability for organic acids ranged from 140 to 2140, for free amino acids from 11.8 to 610, and for secondary metabolites from 4.4 to 224.6 mg/100  g. Grass pea accessions  with high organic acid, free amino acid and secondary metabolite contents were identified: k-900 (Colombia) for organic acids (2140, 610 and 178 mg/100  g); k-51 (Georgia) and k-959 (Afghanistan) for free amino acids (401.29 and 540.63 mg/100 g); k-893 (Eritrea) for secondary metabolites (199.39 mg/100 g), etc. They can serve as source material for the development of cultivars for different uses (forage and medicinal).

For strawberry  (Fragaria × ananassa Duch., 2n = 8x = 56), which is the leading  berry crop in the world, research  into the genotype × environment interaction is important. A complicated genomic composition, the  diversity of genetic control systems, and a strong modifying effect of growing conditions on the implementation of quantitative traits make it necessary to improve  methods for analysis of the  genotypic variability of economically  valuable  traits with the  aim of identifying genotypes that  are characterized by stability and adaptive qualities in a wide ecological  range  of growing  conditions. In 2016–2018, twenty-seven strawberry  varieties were studied in the collections of North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture, Viticulture and Krymsk Experiment Breeding Station, VIR Branch. Field experiments and data counts  were set and carried out according to a single scheme. The following characteristics were studied: the number of inflorescences (units per plant), the number of berries (units per plant), the average  weight  of berry and berry of the first order (g), total and marketable yield (g per plant), firmness of fruit (g), sugar content in berries on Degrees  Brix (°Bx), sugar-acid  index. The purpose of this work was the development of a methodical approach to assessing the contribution of the genotype– environment interaction to the variability of the traits of productivity and fruit quality and the determination of strawberry varieties with a stable  genotype. To this end, the mathematical models  of two- and three-factor analysis of variance and cluster  analysis using Ward’s method were employed. According to the  results  of this work, strawberry  varieties grown in different  climatic conditions show  differences  in the  structure of the  variability of the  traits of productivity and  fruit quality. For the conditions of the city of Krymsk, the influence  of the genotype of the variety was predominant, and for the  conditions of the  city of Krasnodar, in addition  to the  influence  of the  genotype of the  variety, the  environmental component in the form of the genotype–environment interaction is also significant. A statistically significant influence of the growing  zone has been  established for the traits of productivity and fruit quality, with the exception of the average weight of fruit. At the same time, differences in the mean values of the traits of varieties can be both significant and partially or completely absent. To identify varieties with promise for cultivation in the areas studied, it is recommended to use cluster analysis on the informative complex of traits with the calculation  of the Euclidean distances for varieties that were grown under  different  conditions. The magnitude of the Euclidean distance  will be the measure of the influence  of a particular environment on the  genotype of plants. The smaller the  value of the  Euclidean distance  in a variety, according to the complex of the traits studied, the more stable this variety is.

In order  to identify samples  with a minimum  and  maximum  content of β-glucans  in the  grain, screening of oats grown in Eastern Siberia for three  years was performed. To determine the prospects for further use of oat samples, other chemical, physical and production characteristics were measured in parallel: the protein  and oil content in the grain, its film content, test weight, 1000 grains weight, the vegetation period and the yield. The object of a comprehensive evaluation was 14 hulled and naked 5 VIR (N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources) oats samples of different origin, mainly from Siberia. The hulled samples formed grains with β-glucan content from 2.9 to 5.2 %, while the naked ones, from 3.7 to 4.8 %. The lowest values were in the Krasnoyarsk varieties Tubinskiy, Kazyr, Sayan (about 3 %); the highest, in the foreign accession Local Tunisia 1 (5.2 %). The highest oil content was shown by Tubinsky, Kazyr and Sayan, all currently cultivated in the Krasnoyarsk region. An increased accumulation of protein in grain was observed in the hulled variety Local Tunisia 1 and the naked accession of Vyatskiy. According to the content of β-glucans  in the grain, taking into account its other characteristics and yield values, the best samples for the food direction (the maximum level of these substances) are Local Tunisia 1, Medved and Taidon, and for feed use (the minimum level) are Tubinskiy, Vyatskiy and Golets. There was no noticeable advantage of naked samples  in comparison with hulled ones in the content of β-glucans  in the grain. A high strength of the positive relationship between the content of oil or β-glucans  in the grain and the year of oat cultivation was observed in the hulled samples. In naked forms, a clear link between the concentrations of chemicals in the different  grain samples  of oats and the year of cultivation has not been established.

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is the development of embryo-like structures from somatic plant tissues. This process rarely can be observed in nature, but for many plant species, in vitro protocols are developed, which allow to obtain somatic embryos formation directly from tissues of plant explant or from the embryogenic callus. SE is widely used for plant propagation and transformation; therefore, the search for SE stimulators and revealing of the mechanisms of their functioning are very important for biotechnology. Among the SE regulators, proteins of the WOX family play significant roles. WOX (WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX) is a homeodomain-containing transcription factor family. Different WOX genes  function  in different plant organs  and tissues, maintaining meristem activity and regulating cell proliferation  and differentiation. Recently, we have shown  that  transcription factor MtWOX9-1, belonging to the WOX family, can stimulate SE in the Medicago truncatula callus culture. In this research, transcriptomic analysis of highly embryogenic calli with MtWOX9-1 overexpression was performed in comparison to wildtype calli. It was shown that MtWOX9-1 overexpression led to the activation  of several groups  of genes,  including genes  related  to cell division, tissue differentiation, and seed development. Enriched GO pathways included  several groups  related to histone  methyltransferase activity as well as DNA methylation and chromatin binding,  suggesting major epigenetic changes that  occur in call overexpressing MtWOX9-1. Using Medicago Truncatula Gene Expression Atlas, we also identified a group of genes  coding for transcription factors that were both coexpressed with MtWOX9-1 in different plant organs  and differentially expressed in our samples. These genes  are putative targets of MtWOX9-1, and they may act in the same pathway with this regulator during SE.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L., Medicago varia Mart., Medicago falcata L.) is a perennial leguminous plant  well-known as the queen of forages  cultivated  all over the world. The general  biology and morphology of the plant  has been described in detail. The typical inflorescence of the plant is raceme. Due to the multistep inbreeding process  in this cross-pollinated species, different mutant forms have been  found  in inbred  progenies. They include long racemes, panicle-like racemes  (with fertile and sterile flowers), complicated branched racemes,  and fasciated  inflorescences. The fasciation trait was discovered first in long racemes  and then it was introduced into every mutant inflorescence type by hand  pollination. By means  of pair hybridization,  transitional  forms of some mutants were isolated and the new mutant forms combined two or three  mutant genes.  New gene  names  are proposed for new duplex  and triplex mutant types: lpfas, pi1lpfas, brilpfas. Medicago truncatula is a conventional model species for legume  genome research. M. truncatula and alfalfa share highly conserved nucleotide sequences and exhibit nearly perfect  synteny between the two genomes. The knowledge about inflorescence development in model M. truncatula plants adds to understanding the genetic nature of mutant inflorescence development in alfalfa; therefore, we compiled the information on the genetic regulation of inflorescence development in M. truncatula. The M. truncatula mutant mtpim has a complicated inflorescence structure resembling panicle-like inflorescence in alfalfa. Presently, it is known that the inflorescence architecture in M. truncatula is controlled by spatiotemporal expression  of MtTFL1, MtFULc, MtAP1, and SGL1 through reciprocal repression.  Some mutants isolated in M. truncatula resemble alfalfa mutants in phenotype. The mutant generated by retrotransposon insertion mutagenesis and named sgl1-1 has a cauliflower-like phenotype looking just like the cauliflower mutant in alfalfa. New data concerning genes regulating inflorescence development in model legumes approach us to understanding the phenomenon of inflorescence mutations in alfalfa. The information of inflorescence mutants in nonmodel crops may augment our knowledge of plant development and help crop improvement.

High yields of seeds,  green  pods  and  green  biomass  is the  main goal of soybean breeding in many  countries. An assessment of relationships between the  productivity traits  and  their  effect  on the  yield may be  useful in developing effective crop cultivation  programs. In soybean,  the stem  growth  habit  and the branching character are interrelated with plant  productivity and  in most  cases determine it. Therefore, the  aim of the  present work was to study  the  variability of the  level (strength) and  the  structure of correlations between 92 morphological, phenological, biochemical,  agronomic traits of soybean accessions  with different  growth  habits,  and  branching characters in different weather conditions. 270 soybean accessions  of different ecological and geographical origin from the VIR collection  have  been  grown  in the  Krasnodar region  within 3 years. Field studies  of the  traits and biochemical  analysis were carried out according to VIR guidelines. The variability of correlation  matrices as regards the  strength and  structure of relationships was analyzed  using the  correlation  and  factor analysis (the principal component method), as well as the method developed by N.S. Rostova. A comparison of the level (R2, coefficient of determination) and  structure of correlations in different  years has  shown  that  the  deterioration of external conditions is followed by an increase  in the strength of relationships (R2) between the traits and in the difference between correlation   matrices’ structure. Soybean  adaptation to  the  changing  conditions occurs  due  to  the rearrangements of relationship systems, whereas  the  degree and direction  of these  changes are determined by the  growing  conditions and  specificity of the  accessions  response. Under favorable  conditions, the  structure of correlations in soybeans with different  growth  habits,  and  branching characters has more  similarity than  in the conditions critical for development. The highest level of relationships (R2) between the traits was observed in the year that was unfavorable for the growth  of the semi-cultivated accessions  (with the indeterminate growth  habit and a large number of branches of the 1st and 2nd order). The green  biomass  productivity of accessions  with the determinate growth  habit and more than two branches is most strongly associated with the branch  weight, while in accessions  with the indeterminate growth  habit and with (or without) 1–2 branches it depends on the growing season  duration,  one leaf weight  and the number of leaves per plant. In the semi-cultivated accessions  (with the indeterminate growth habit and numerous branches of the 1st and 2nd order), it correlates, besides the listed traits, with the number of nodes, the internode length, the main stem diameter, the weight of leaves, seed morphometric parameters and their quality.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum  L.) is grown  in different  climatic zones  as both  a spring  and  winter  crop. Adaptation to different growing conditions produced genotypes with different growth  durations and degrees of photosensitivity. It was always of great importance for breeders to create varieties with rapid development, in particular, early-flowering ones. The evaluation of lines from the VIR flax genetic collection revealed  a wide intraspecific diversity in the duration of growth  phases,  the number of leaves on the stem  (physiological indicator  of early flowering), and the degree of photosensitivity. Line gc-109, early flowering under the long-day conditions, but greatly photosensitive, was found to possess the wf1 (white flowers) gene, associated with early flowering and a small number of leaves. This line was crossed to the late-flowering but low-photosensitive line gc-375, which had reddish purple flowers. The analysis of segregation in F₂ held under  the long (19 hours) and short (12 hours, daylength at the equator) day conditions showed that  the number of leaves on the plant stem was associated with the flowering time and controlled by close genetic systems only under the long-day conditions. In addition, no relationship between the flowering time and petal color was found under  the short-day  conditions. Thus, different groups  of genes  are active in different light schedules. More than 200 lines of the 6th generation of inbreeding were obtained from the plants of the hybrid population. Their field testing under  the long-day  conditions showed that  although the majority of the lines with white petals  flowered early and had a small number of leaves, some of them bloomed later and were leafier. On the contrary, the early flowering and less leafy lines appeared among the lines with colored flowers. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume  that a crossover between the gene  participating in the control of early flowering, which came from the gc-109 line, and its wf1 gene occurred  in meiosis of F₁. The linkage between the genes  controlling  early flowering and white petals  suggests that flower color can serve as a marker of early flowering in the selection of early breeding material.

The article presents the results of an evaluation of the earliness and photoperiodic response (PPR) in the long-day oat accessions  of various geographic origin. The material for this study were 139 oat accessions  from the global collection of plant genetic resources  maintained by the Vavilov Institute (VIR), which included  landraces, breeding cultivars, and lines. In addition,  the donors  of low sensitivity to photoperiod developed at VIR were tested. A preliminary field study of the oat collection for early maturity and growing plants in the vegetation experiment was carried out according to the VIR Guidelines. The early accessions from VIR’s oat collection identified in the field showed a great diversity of their photoperiodic responses during the vegetation experiment in a photoperiod facility. By origin, most of the accessions described in the vegetation experiment as earliness  and weakly responsive to photoperiod were from Brazil (66 %); others from the USA, Portugal, Turkey, Colombia and Australia. Most of the Russian cultivars studied (77 %) were sensitive to a short  photoperiod. Among donors  with different  photoperiodic responses, Skorospely 1 and  Skorospely 2 were weakly responsive to photoperiod, while Srednespely 1 and  Srednespely 2 showed medium  responses. Many years of field studies  and vegetation experiments with the  oat genetic diversity from the VIR global collection  have resulted in identifying genotypes characterized by earliness and weak photoperiodic responses. These accessions  are of special value for breeders and currently being used to develop new early and productive oat cultivars.

The introduction of the new legume crop guar is of great practical importance for Russia, since it serves as a source of valuable vegetable raw material, guar gum, used for the food, gas and oil industry. The main problem with guar cultivation in the southern regions of the Russian Federation is that this plant should be grown under a short photoperiod. Prolonged daylight exposure is an obstacle to the timely transition of guar to flowering, which dramatically affects its productivity. In the study, 192 guar genotypes from the VIR collection were tested for the speed of transition to flowering on an extremely long photoperiod (18.2–18.9 h) in the greenhouse of the Pushkin experimental station of VIR (St. Petersburg). At the same time, the earliness of maturation of the same genotypes was estimated under  the field conditions in the Kuban experimental station  of VIR (Krasnodar area). Among the samples  tested, genotypes with weak photoperiodic sensitivity (which were also early maturated under  the conditions of Krasnodar), as well as the  highly photoperiod-sensitive genotypes were identified.  It has been  established that  for the same guar plant the critical photoperiod initiating the formation  of buds may not coincide with the critical photoperiod required for their flushing (i. e. flowering per se). The observed fact confirms the hypothesis reported earlier about a two-stage launch of the flowering program in guar, according to which budding and flowering itself are controlled by independent gene  systems. According to our results, the successful breeding of early mature guar varieties ultimately depends on the first gene system that controls the initiation of budding in response to a critical photoperiod. We suggest that another hypothetical gene  system can influence the dates  of guar flowering, which determines the speed  of vegetative development of a specific genotype, measured as the number of days from germination to the appearance of the first true leaf. Thus, sensitivity to photoperiod in guar is only one of several factors that determine the speed  of a plant’s transition  to flowering, and it should not be assessed on the basis of the length  of the period from germination to flowering, which is common in breeding practice. The results of the study show that, although the photoperiod sensitivity of guar limits the range of geographic latitudes in which the legume  crop can be successfully grown, there  is a real opportunity to overcome this limitation  by selecting  and propagating photoperiod-insensitive genotypes from the enormous genetic diversity of this species.

For the  successful  development of wheat  breeding in Russia, a genetically  diverse  and  well-characterized starting material, mainly stored  at the VIR collection, is needed. To replenish  the collection, 36 lines (accessions) of synthetic hexaploid  wheat  (SHWs) developed at CIMMYT by crossing Triticum durum with Aegilops tauschii were studied.  Our research  was aimed at studying  the SHWs using a complex of morphological and economically  valuable traits in the environments of European Russia’s northwestern part (E30°, N59°), evaluating the reaction  of the SHWs to a photoperiod  and determining their genetic heterogeneity and similarities by gliadins as biochemical  markers. The results showed that the variability of different traits for SHWs fits into the framework of the genus  Triticum, and so SHWs can be classified as poorly domesticated forms. Their distinctive feature, valuable for wheat  breeding, is a large weight  of a thousand grains (up to 60.6 g). This trait was characterized by a low degree of variability and a low correlation  with other  traits. The reaction  of wheat  plants to the length  of the day is crucial for their transition  from vegetative to reproductive development. The SHWs studied differed from common wheat and one another by responses to the short day and by the length  of the ‘emergence-heading’ phase  if they grew under  the conditions of a long day. The delay in the development of plants with a short photoperiod ranged from 5.4 to 53.8 days. On a long day, the duration of the ‘emergence-heading’ phase  varied from 39.5 to 53.9 days. A possible genetic basis for the differences  identified is discussed.  To assess the diversity of SHWs, we also used  gliadin proteins as informative  biochemical  markers. It was revealed  that 21 SHWs were homogeneous, and the rest, heterogeneous. Forty-four different biotypes were found for the SHWs studied,  from which 36 were unique.  Relationships between biotypes have been  demonstrated using cluster analysis. It should be noted that 13 SHWs were unstable. In each of them, some plants differed from the others  in terms of a complex of morphological characters, reaction to a photoperiod, and gliadin patterns. It is possible that the instability of accessions  is the result of genome rearrangement in SHWs. SHW accessions  and the forms isolated from them are considered as sources of new genetic variability to improve common wheat.

The synthesis  of new  allopolyploid  cereal  genotypes is an important task aimed  at involving new  genetic resources in breeding programs. Diploid species of the genera Triticum and Aegilops – bread  wheat  relatives – are an important source of agronomically  valuable traits. A tetraploid synthetic  with genomic formula DDAuAu was obtained by N.A. Navruzbekov through crossing Aegilops tauschii Coss. and Triticum urartu Thum. ex Gandil. The purpose of this work was to study  the  chromosomal composition and  biological  and  commercially  important traits of the  tetraploid. Cytogenetic analysis using fluorescent in situ hybridization  showed the  presence of all chromosomes of the D genome in the chromosomal complement of the synthetic. By means  of stepwise  vernalization, the winter habit was established for the tetraploid synthetic with the optimum vernalization requirement of 45 days. Under greenhouse conditions, two groups of genotypes were found whose flowering dates differed by 6.5 days, which may indicate an allelism at the Vrn-3 locus. The coloring of various organs of the tetraploid plant, such as coleoptile,  stem, anthers,  and glumes  of the spike, was revealed. The coloration  of the aleurone layer of the grain may indicate that the donor species T. urartu is a carrier of the Ba gene that controls its blue color. A new morphotype of leaf pubescence was found. In terms of productivity, the tetraploid is comparable to bread wheat. Grains are characterized by a supersoft structure and high wet gluten  content, from 39–45 to 65 %, in the field and greenhouse conditions, respectively. Thus, the tetraploid can be used to create  new wheat  genotypes as a source  of untapped genetic diversity, as well as a new genetic model  for studying  the patterns of evolution  of polyploid plants.

Male sterility in potato is little studied since traditional breeding is based  on the vegetative reproduction of highly heterozygous tetraploid varieties. The rapid development of hybrid diploid breeding contributes to growing interest in studying the male sterility of this important crop. In this work, a set of 6 cytoplasmic markers was employed to describe cytoplasmic genetic diversity of 185 potato cultivars bred in Russia and FSU countries. Three cytoplasm types were identified, T (40.0 %), D (50.8 %) and W/γ (8.7 %), which according to literature  are associated with male sterility. With a single exception (0.5 %), cytoplasm types characteristic of male fertile forms (A, P) were not found in the subset  of 185 cultivars. A comparison of these results with previously published data suggested expanding the subset  to up to 277 cultivars, all developed in Russia or FSU countries;  however,  the resulting  differentiation into three cytoplasm  types (T, D and W/γ) was nearly the same. Fertility phenotyping helped identify both  male-sterile and male-fertile genotypes within the three groups  of varieties with T-, D- and W/γ-type cytoplasm. Fifteen genotypes differing in cytoplasm  type and male sterility/fertility traits were selected for direct sequencing of 8 mtDNA loci. Fragments of the  nad2, nad7, cox2, atp6 and  CcmFc genes  were identical  in all 15 selected genotypes. The polymorphism, detected in the rps3, atp9 and CcmFc loci, was not associated with male sterility. Two SNPs in the nad1/atp6 and nad2 loci differentiated 7 genotypes with W/γ-type cytoplasm into five genotypes with tetrad sterility, and two with fertile pollen. The results of an NGS analysis confirmed  the association of these  SNPs with tetrad sterility in a larger set of 28 genotypes of different origin, all with W/γ-type cytoplasm.  A heteroplasmy state  was observed both in male-sterile and in male-fertile genotypes.

Russia does not possess  as many highly adaptable, technological, early-ripening varieties of sweet  cherry (Prunus avium L.) as would suffice to feel comfortable. Therefore, breeders are faced with the task of obtaining hybrid seeds as soon  as possible. This task is not easy because of low field germination rates of hybrid seeds. The goal of our research  was to select the best environments and ways to reduce  infection while obtaining the largest number of full-fledged sweet cherry seedlings  from intraspecific hybridization  in vitro and to accelerate the selection process. Work on the  in vitro cultivation  of germs  of intraspecific  hybrids  from four combinations of crosses  of the  promising varieties and sweet cherry donors ‘Valerij Chkalov’ × ‘Svithart’, ‘Krasnodarskaya Rannaya’ × ‘Krupnoplodnaya’, ‘Jaroslavna’ × ‘Svееthart’, ‘Еiforiya’ × ‘Svееthart’ under  the “early-ripening and  large-fruited” program started with prebreeding and the selection of maternal and paternal forms of sweet cherries. In the course of research, the terms of taking fruits for planting in vitro culture have been determined, which correspond to the end of May and the beginning of June. The process of sterilization from saprophytic microflora of fruits, stone and seeds before cultivation has been optimized. Three modified media with macro- and microelements based on Murashige and Skoog, Prunus and Smirnova were tested and assessed for suitability for cultivation of cherry embryos. According to the results of the experiments, an agarized  M4 artificial nutrient medium  based  on the Murashige and Skoog formulations with the addition  of ascorbic acid and sucrose was proposed as the most optimal for germination and providing  excellent nutrition.  Mass germination from bud seedlings  of these  hybrid combinations of sweet  cherry crosses, when applying  the developed scheme,  was noted in our experiments as early as in the first decade of July, i. e. about a month and a half after putting them into culture. The efficiency of growing hybrid seedlings of early-ripening sweet cherries with the use of embryo  culture is indisputable, since it makes it possible to produce hybrids in the same year when the crosses are made.

Modern climate changes task breeders to adapt viticulture to the new natural resource potential of the regions. A necessary condition is the assessment and analysis of current trends in changing the characteristics of contrasting groups of varieties. The aim of the study is to identify homogeneous groups  of varieties of an ampelographic collection and to compare the rates of reaction  of their agrobiological parameters to climate changes. Material for the study consists of observations of 21 agrobiological characteristics of 109 grape varieties from the Don ampelographic collection named after Ya.I. Potapenko (Novocherkassk) with an observation period from 10 to 36 years in 1981–2017. The sample included  Vitis vinifera L. varieties and the V. vinifera L. × V. labrusca L. and V. vinifera L. × V. amurensis Rupr. interspecific hybrids, and hybrids from crosses between V. vinifera L. and several American species. Homogeneous groups  of characteristics and varieties are identified by principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods. Trends in changing the agrobiological characteristics of the varieties and groups  of varieties are calculated.  PCA revealed  that the main differentiating factor of the studied fragment of the ampelographic collection is the size of the bunch; the second, the yield; the third, the time of ripening. The values of the factors are contrasting in varieties of different  directions  of use and taxonomic origin, which was confirmed  by ANOVA. The groups  of the V. vinifera × V. labrusca and V. vinifera × V. amurensis hybrids do not differ significantly from each  other  in most  indicators,  exceeding V. vinifera varieties in the  number of elements of productivity, winter hardiness and yield. Complex hybrids with American species have an intermediate position  between these  groups exceeding all groups  in bunch  weight.  All groups  of cultivars show trends  towards  a reduction in productive period,  an increase  in the mass of bunch  and yield, sugar content and a decrease in acidity. The V. vinifera × V. labrusca hybrids are distinguished by the highest growth  rate of the bunch  mass caused  by a reduction in the duration of active growth  and a decrease in the percentage of fruit-bearing shoots.  A higher  reduction rate of the production period  and a decrease in acidity were observed in later varieties. Regression analysis showed that the acceleration of the ripening of grapes is largely due to rising temperatures.

Winter rye is the second  bread  and the most valuable forage crop. Rye is cultivated  primarily in Russia, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Scandinavia, China, Canada and the United States. The acreage allocated  for the cultivation of rye in the world is declining (from 15.4 million ha in 1986 to 4.4 million ha in 2016). In all areas of cultivation rye has earned a reputation as the most  adapted to the climatic conditions of the insurance  culture  of low economic risk. For the expansion of crops of rye and an increase in the gross yield of grain, it is necessary to create new varieties of rye. Currently, 94 gene  banks in the world store 22,200 samples  of winter and spring rye. Gene banks are located  around the world; the largest of them – the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (3260 samples) – is located in Russia. The collection of the world’s genetic resources  of rye, concentrated in storage and propagated in the fields, contains  varieties, donors, populations and lines of cultural, weed-field, wild, winter and spring rye. The collection is being constantly updated and replenished with new samples, the system of reliable storage and maintenance of the high viability of seeds is being improved, the sources of traits with value for breeding are being identified and studied, and donors are being created. Scientific, breeding and educational institutions are being  supplied with source material. An electronic  passport documentation system of the collection is being developed and integrated into the international system  of genetic banks. In this paper,  a brief analysis and characterization of the VIR rye collection is given. The history of the pre-selection study and the stages of the creation and use of donors for various problems of selection are reviewed, a passport database on winter and spring rye has been created.

This article  presents the  history  of the  formation  of the  Russian state  Brassicaceae  collection  maintained at  the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR). Nowadays this one of the world’s richest collections encompasses more than 10,750 accessions of different status from 32 species and 11 genera: vegetable, fodder, oilseed, spicy, ornamental crops and continues to grow through collecting missions and exchange of material. The first intraspecific botanical  and agrobiological ecologo-geographical divisions of many crops – cole, turnip, radish, small radish, Swede – were performed by E.N. Sinskaya and T.V. Lizgunova over years of research. These unique works have been continued by M.A. Shebalina and L.V. Sazonova: the cultivar types of Chinese cabbage and pakchoi have been determined; the development of the classifications of white cabbage, broccoli, small radish, turnip is being  continued. The objective laws of variability of valuable biochemical  traits are presented; a comparative analysis of nutritive and biologically active substances, primarily secondary metabolites, allowed us to determine specific biochemical  compounds: those common for the related  species Brassica oleracea and B. rapa but occurring in them at different frequencies and those unique for species, subspecies and separate cultivar types; this is the beginning of taxonomic studies. With phytopathological studies, the common diseases of Brassicas in the northwestern part of Russia were determined, and the level of their distribution and development depending on the crop was shown. Genetic studies of the Brassicaceae collections at VIR include DNA analysis to search for duplicates in the collections, to compare original seeds  and the seeds  after reproduction and to assess the authenticity of saved accessions, to assess biodiversity, including that of new material from collecting missions, to develop phylogenetic studies. Chromosome loci controlling flowering time, morphological and biochemical  traits were determined by QTL analysis and association mapping, the molecular  markers found  are used for screening the collection and breeding material. The sources and donors of traits valuable for modern breeding directions have been found for use in various breeding programs.