The paper presents an analysis of the data obtained for pea accessions from the VIR collection studied at the Adler Experiment Station in the setting of the Krasnodar Territory in 2017–2019. It was for the first time that these accessions were studied for a set of phenotypic traits. The object of the study was a sample of 494 pea accessions originated from 43 countries and 18 regions and territories of the Russian Federation. The work was carried out in compliance with the methodological guidelines developed at VIR. Statistica 13.3 software was employed for statistical data processing. An assessment of four qualitative, 10 quantitative and four phenological traits in the accessions made it possible to differentiate them by the type of use, that is, as dry, forage and garden peas. The varieties differing in the type of use significantly differed by the values of such traits as stem length, number of pods per plant, number of nodes to the first flower, number of flowers in the inflorescence, the maximum number of seeds per pod, pod length, and a narrower pod of forage pea compared to that of dry and garden peas. The average values of these traits were recorded for the peas with different types of use. The maximum difference was noted between garden and forage pea varieties. Dry pea varieties occupied an intermediate position. The complex of phenotypic traits identified determines the differences between three types of pea use, which is important when selecting the initial material for breeding appropriate varieties.

The study, expansion and preservation of the genetic diversity of the source material, and its purposeful use in hybridization is the basis for the creation of adaptive varieties of durum spring wheat that are resistant to biotic and abiotic factors of the environment of Western Siberia. The objects of research were samples of durum spring wheat. Over the years of research (2000–2020), about 3 thousand samples were worked out from the world gene pool of various countries and regions: from the collection of the VIR, the gene pool from Mexico (CIMMYT) within the framework of the agreement and cooperation program (2000–2007), from 2000 to the present time under the program of the Kazakh-Siberian Spring Wheat Breeding Network (KASIB), from other scientific institutions of Russia in exchange activities. Using generally accepted techniques, the obtained material was studied for a complex of traits: yield, adaptability, grain quality, resistance to diseases. In the cycle of studying the gene pool from CIMMYT, 50 genotypes were identified in terms of yield at the level of the Omskaja jantarnaja standard, 276 grains by test weight, 131 samples by pasta color, 131 samples by resistance to hard smut, and 112 by resistance to powdery mildew. Almost all samples were not affected by leaf rust. The study set showed high sensitivity to extreme conditions and most forms of interest in quality and disease resistance were low-productive in our environment. In KASIB nurseries, 29 samples were identified in terms of yield and adaptability, 29 samples in terms of grain quality, 21 in terms of resistance to diseases, including 8 resistant to stem rust. In the set of varieties received from the VIR, 15 genotypes were adaptive, 16 had high grain quality, 11 were resistant to stem rust. In the breeding material, 17 samples of the local population resistant to stem rust (6 of them were comprehensively resistant) and 25 race-resistant to Ug99 were identified. The genotypes identified as a result of research are of interest as sources of valuable traits.

In recent years, raspberry breeding has shifted its emphasis from agronomic performance to characteristics related to the sensory qualities of the fruit and its potential health benefits. The therapeutic and preventive properties of raspberries are related to their biochemical composition. In this regard, the purpose of the work was to determine the content of macro- and micronutrients in fruits of different cultivars of repair raspberry using modern high-tech analytical methods and the selection of genetic sources of the analyzed elements for further breeding. The objects of the research were 17 cultivars of repair raspberry of different ecological and geographical origin from the genetic plant bioresource collection of FSBSO ARHCBAN. It was found that the ash residue of berries contains 12 major elements, which form the following descending series: K>P>Mg≥Mo>Ca>S≥Ni>Zn>Mn>Se>Fe≥Co. The largest proportion of ash residue in raspberry fruits is K. Depending on the cultivar, its quantity averaged from 12.81 wt % (Samorodok and Karamelka) to 22.37 wt % (Atlant). The minimum K content was observed in the ash of the Carolina cultivar (5.62 wt %), while in berries of this cultivar Mg (2.91), Ca (2.62) and Zn (0.14 wt %) accumulated above average. Among the group of early maturing cultivars, the cultivar Yubileinaya Kulikova stands out with a high content of Mo (4.63), Ca (2.19), Fe (0.25) and Co (0.21 wt %). The cultivar Pingvin is characterized by a high content of K (22.65) and Se (0.31 wt %). The medium maturity cultivar Samorodok is characterized by a higher content of P (4.08), S (0.47), Ni (0.51) and Zn (0.26 wt %). Among the late maturing cultivars, the cultivar Poranna Rosa stands out with the preferential accumulation of nine elements: Mg (2.98), P (4.42), S (0.36), K (20.34), Ca (1.71), Mn (0.14), Co (0.13), Se (0.21) and Mo (3.08 wt %). Correlation relationships between the elements have been established. Samples with the highest accumulation of macro- and microelements in berries represent genetic sources for further selection of raspberry for improvement of the mineral composition of fruits.

Recently, the trend of using fruit and berry crops as ingredients for functional and dietary nutrition, the development and implementation of flavors, pigments, new medicines and dietary supplements has been actualized. Because the direction of use depends on the biochemical properties of fruits, which are determined not only by species and varietal characteristics, but also by reproduction conditions, the study of the biochemical composition of fruits grown in various regions of the world continues to be relevant. In this regard, the collection of N.I. Vavilov Institute (VIR), which has a wide diversity of fruit and berry crops, is of great interest for study. Ribes nigrum fruits have a balanced set of sugars, organic acids, essential oils, microelements, a high content of vitamins, anthocyanins, pectins. Lonicera caerulea fruits are characterized by high values of phenolic substances: bioflavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols, polyphenols, anthocyanins, as well as vitamins, carotenoids, iridoid glycosides and other natural antioxidants. The investigation of L. caerulea and R. nigrum fruit’s accessions from the VIR collection using gas-liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry allows us to obtain new information about the biochemical characteristics of fruits, to identify L. caerulea and R. nigrum varieties with optimal economically valuable characteristics, to determine the specificity of L. caerulea and R. nigrum metabolomic spectra in the setting of Northwest Russia. As a result of the analysis, typical compounds of the metabolomic profile of each culture were identified. Organic acids, phenol-containing compounds and polyols prevailed in L. caerulea, while mono- and oligosaccharides, in R. nigrum. The qualitative composition of the black currant varieties ‘Malen’kii Printz’, ‘Dobriyi Dzhinn’, ‘Tisel’, ‘Orlovskii Val’s’, and blue honeysuckle ‘S 322-4’, ‘Malvina’, ‘Leningradsky Velikan’ was optimal for food consumption; the varieties of blue honeysuckle ‘Bazhovskaya’ and black currant ‘Aleander’ had a good representation of biologically active compounds, which makes samples attractive as raw materials for the production of biologically active additives, including with the use of microorganisms’ cultures.

Perilla frutescens is mainly cultivated as an oilseed crop. Perilla seeds contain 40–53 % of oil, 28 % of protein. The growing season is 100–150 days. In Russia, perilla is grown in the Far East, where the yield is 0.8–1.2 t/ha. Perilla of different geographical origin has its own special, sharply different features that characterize two geographical groups: Japanese and Korean-Chinese. These groups differ from each other in the length of the growing season, the height of plants, the color of the stem, the surface and the size of the leaves, the shape of the bush, the shape and size of the inflorescences, the size of the cups, the size and color of the seeds. P. frutescens contains a large number of polyphenolic compounds that are biologically active components. The purpose of this research was a metabolomic study of extracts from leaves of P. frutescens obtained from the collection of Federal Research Center the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, grown on the fields of the Far East Experiment Station – Branch of Federal Research Center (Primorsky Krai, Russia). To identify target analytes in extracts, HPLC was used in combination with an ion trap. Preliminary results showed the presence of 23 biologically active compounds corresponding to P. frutescens. In addition to the reported metabolites, a number of metabolites were newly annotated in P. frutescens. There were hydroxycoumarin Umbelliferone; triterpene Squalene; omega-3 fatty acid Stearidonic [Moroctic] acid; higher-molecular-weight carboxylic acid: Tetracosenoic acid and Salvianic acid C; lignan Syringaresinol and cyclobutane lignan Sagerinic acid, etc. A wide range of biologically active compounds opens up rich opportunities for the creation of new drugs and dietary supplements based on extracts of perilla of the family Lamiaceae, subfamily Lamioideae, tribe Satureji and subtribe Perillinae.

The creation of apple varieties with a high level of flesh firmness and long shelf life is one of the important goals in breeding. Among the genes controlling these traits, the role of the endogenous ethylene biosynthesis control gene, Md-ACS1, the expansin gene, Md-Exp7, and the polygalacturonase gene, Md-PG1, has been established. The use of DNA marker analysis to solve problems in breeding for fruit quality traits allows one not only to track several target genes simultaneously, but also to cull plants with undesirable alleles at the early stages of development. In order to select complex donors of breeding traits, molecular genetic identification of the genes that determine the quality traits of apple fruits Md-Exp7 and Md-PG1 was performed in 256 breeding selections carrying the scab resistance gene Rvi6 and valuable allelic variants of the Md-ACS-1 gene, which determines the endogenous synthesis of ethylene in fruits: 90 samples with the Md-ACS1 allele (2/2) and 166 samples with Md-ACS1 (1/2). As a result of the study, an allelic combination for the Md-Exp7 and Md-PG1 genes was established. Analysis of the parental cultivars (Renet Simirenko, Modi, Smeralda, Renoir, Fulzhion and Granny Smith) used to obtain hybrid selections revealed three alleles 198, 202, 214 bp according to the DNA marker of the Md-Exp7 gene. The SSR marker for the Md-PG1 gene amplified three alleles (289, 292, 298 bp) on the abovementioned cultivars. Within the 256 breeding selections samples that have the most priority for breeding alleles of the desired genes in combination with the Rvi6 gene and/or with selection-priority allelic variants of the Md-ACS-1 gene were identified. Of the most valuable for breeding, 46 accessions carrying the combination Md-Exp7 (202:202) + Md-ACS1 (2/2) were distinguished. Hybrids with alleles Md-PG1 (292:292) + Md-ACS1 (2/2) are also most valuable for use in breeding and as donors of selection-valuable alleles; 21 samples were identified. Accessions with a complex of breeding-valuable target alleles are valuable complex donors, as well as valuable breeding material for creating varieties with improved fruit quality characteristics and scab resistance.

Tomato Solanum lycopersicum L. is one of the main vegetable crops, accessions and cultivars of which are characterized by a low level of genomic polymorphism. Introgressive tomato breeding uses related wild Solanum species to improve cultivars for stress tolerance and fruit quality traits. The aim of this work was to evaluate the genome variability of 59 cultivars and perspective breeding lines of S. lycopersicum and 11 wild tomato species using the AFLP method. According to the AFLP analysis, four combinations of primers E32/M59, E32/M57, E38/M57, and E41/M59, which had the highest PIC (polymorphism information content) values, were selected. In the process of genotyping a collection of 59 cultivars/lines of S. lycopersicum and 11 wild tomato accessions, the selected primers revealed 391 fragments ranging in size from 80 to 450 bp, of which 114 fragments turned out to be polymorphic and 25 were unique. Analysis of the amplification spectra placed wild tomato accessions into separate clades. Sister clades included cultivars of FSCV breeding resistant to drought and/or cold and, in part, to late blight, Alternaria, Septoria, tobacco mosaic virus and blossom end rot, as well as tomato accessions not characterized according to these traits, which suggests that they have resistance to stress factors. In accessions of distant clades, there was clustering on the basis of resistance to Verticillium, cladosporiosis, Fusarium, tobacco mosaic virus, gray rot, and blossom end rot. The combination of accessions according to their origin from the originating organization was shown. The primer combinations E32/M59, E32/M57, E38/M57 and E41/M59 were shown to be perspective for genotyping tomato cultivars to select donors of resistance to various stress factors. The clade-specific fragments identified in this work can become the basis for the development of AFLP markers for traits of resistance to stress factors.

The global and local climate changes determine the producing of highly-adaptive common (bread) wheat commercial cultivars of a new generation whose optimal earliness matches the climatic features of the territory where the cultivars are farmed. Principal component analysis involving our own and published data has been applied to investigate 98 commercial common wheat cultivars from Western and Eastern Siberia comparing their morphotypes; cultivar zoning time; length of the vegetation period; 1000-grain weight, and inheritance of spring growth habit. It demonstrated that the dominant Vrn gene polymorphism determining the spring growth habit of the Siberian cultivars was minimally polymorphic. In 75 % of the tested cultivars, the spring growth habit was controlled by digenic, namely dominant Vrn-A1 and Vrn-B1 genes. In 25 % of them (24 cultivars), spring growth habit is controlled by a single gene. In 19 and 5 of these cultivars spring growth habit is controlled by only one dominant gene, Vrn-B1 or Vrn-A1, respectively. In cv. Tulun 15, a trigenic control was identified. A conclusion about the optimality of the digenic control for the climatic conditions of both Western and Eastern Siberia has been confirmed. However, since none of the tested cultivars had the dominant Vrn-D1 gene typical of the regions of China and Central Asia bordering Siberia, it can be considered as an additional argument in favor of the European origin of Siberian common wheat cultivars. The revealed high frequency of the Vrn-B1c allele in the Western Siberian cultivars and the Vrn-B1a allele in the Eastern Siberian cultivars suggests their selectivity. The analysis also confirmed the dominance of red glume (ferrugineum, milturum) and awned spike (ferrugineum, erythrospermum) varieties in the Eastern Siberian cultivars, and white glume and awnedless spike (lutescens and albidum) ones in the Western Siberian cultivars. Small grain size cultivars are more typical of Eastern than Western Siberia. The retrospective analysis based on the cultivars’ zoning time included in the “State Register for Selection Achievements Admitted for Usage” brought us to the conclusion that the earliness/lateness of modern Siberian commercial cultivars was not regionally but rather zonally-associated (taiga, subtaiga, forest-steppe and steppe zones).

The yield and grain quality of spring and winter wheat significantly depends on varieties’ resistance to lodging, the genetic basis of this trait being quantitative and controlled by a large number of loci. Therefore, the study of the genetic architecture of the trait becomes necessary for the creation and improvement of modern wheat varieties. Here we present the results of localization of the genomic regions associated with resistance to lodging, plant height, and upper internode diameter in Russian bread wheat varieties. Phenotypic screening of 97 spring varieties and breeding lines was carried out in the field conditions of the West Siberian region during 2017–2019. It was found that 54 % of the varieties could be characterized as medium and highly resistant to lodging. At the same time, it was noted that the trait varied over the years. Twelve varieties showed a low level of resistance in all years of evaluation. Plant height-based grouping of the varieties showed that 19 samples belonged to semi-dwarfs (60–84 cm), and the rest were included in the group of standard-height plants (85–100 cm). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was performed by means of genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 9285 SNP markers. For lodging resistance, plant height, and upper internode diameter, 26 significant associations (–log p > 3) were found in chromosomes 1B, 2A, 3A, 3D, 4A, 5A, 5B, 5D, 6A, and 7B. The results obtained suggest that the regions of 700–711 and 597–618 Mb in chromosomes 3A and 6A, respectively, may contain clusters of genes that affect lodging resistance and plant height. No chromosome regions colocalized with the QTLs associated with lodging resistance or upper internode diameter were found. The present GWAS results may be important for the development of approaches for creating lodging-resistant varieties through marker-assisted and genomic selection.

The snowballing growth of scientific data obtained using modern techniques of genome editing (GE) calls for their critical evaluation and comparison against previously applied methods such as induced mutagenesis, which was a leading method of genome modification for many decades of the past century, and its application has resulted in a huge diversity of cultivars. However, this method was relatively long and included a number of stages from inducing multiple mutations using different mutagenic factors to crossing and selecting the most valuable cultivars for several generations. A new technology of genetic engineering and transgenesis enabled us to radically reduce the time required to obtain a new genetically-modified cultivar to one generation and make the modification process more effective and targeted. The main drawback of this approach was that an introduced transgene might uncontrollably affect the other genes of a recipient plant, which led to the limitations imposed on transgenesis application in many countries. These limitations have been effectively surmounted thanks to the development of GE techniques allowing for a precise modification within a single gene that in many characteristics make it similar to a natural allele (especially when it comes to ribonucleoprotein complexes), which has paved the way for wide application of GE in routine breeding. The paper reviews the main stages of GE development in its application in plants. It provides short descriptions of different GE techniques, including those using protein editors such as zinc-finger and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN), and the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. It lists a number of achievements in using GE to produce new cultivars of higher yield that are resistant to unfavorable factors and have good nutritional properties. The review also considers the de novo domestication approach, which allows for faster obtaining of new cultivars from natural varieties. In the conclusion, the future ways of GE development are discussed.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the most popular approach for obtaining transgenic plants nowadays. There are plenty of protocols developed for different plant species. These protocols usually include the medium composition, the technology for preparing plant explants and cultivation conditions, as well as the choice of agrobacteria strains. Nicotiana tabacum, or cultivated tobacco, was one of the first successfully transformed plant species. Nicotiana tabacum is a model object in plant genetics, particularly due to its ability for transformation and regeneration. N. tabacum is a naturally transgenic plant since its genome contains a cellular T-DNA acquired from Agrobacteria. The significance of cT-DNA for plants has not yet been established. Some assume that cT-DNA can increase the ability of plants to regenerate due to some of the genes they contain. For example, rolC has been shown to affect the hormonal balance of plants, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this have yet to be found. RolC is also somehow involved in the secondary metabolism of plants. Like N. tabacum, Nicotiana glauca produces a wide range of secondary metabolites and contains an intact rolC gene in its genome. At the same time, unlike N. tabacum, N. glauca is a diploid species, which makes it more suitable for genetic engineering approaches. Nicotiana sylvestris is one of the ancestral species of N. tabacum and does not contain cT-DNA. The aim of this work was to develop a protocol for transformation and regeneration of N. glauca and N. sylvestris. We managed to find an optimum ratio of auxins and cytokinins that promotes both active callus formation and organogenesis in N. glauca and N. sylvestris leaf explants. The developed technique will be useful both for fundamental research that includes the N. glauca and N. sylvestris species, and for practical application in the pharmaceutical industry and biosynthesis.

The discovery of the ability of some mutations to stimulate haploidy during hybridization made it possible to create one of the most promising and sought-after trends in the field of reproductive biology. Haploid inducers created on their basis are capable of increasing the frequency of haploidy up to 15 %. The improvement of the existing haploid inducer lines and the search for new genes that contribute to a high frequency of haploidy are underway. Along with these studies, the field of application of haploid inducers in genetics and plant breeding is expanding. Haploid inducers carrying R1-nj genes for anthocyanin pigmentation of the seed and embryo are able not only to mark the hybrid embryo and identify haploid genotypes, but also to detect genes that suppress the anthocyanin color of the grain, like C1-I, C2-Idf, and In1-D. Depending on their quantity, the phenotypic manifestation of the gene in the seed varies. Haploidy is widely used for accelerating hybrid breeding and obtaining both new maize lines with improved traits and their sterile counterparts. By introducing certain genes into the genome of the improved line, breeders can use the doubled haploid (DH) breeding technology to accelerate the creation of pure lines carrying the desired gene. Haploid inducer maize lines and their tetraploid analogs are used in the selection of rediploid maize lines by their resynthesis from tetraploid genotypes. In 2019, Syngenta Company synthesized a haploid inducer maize line carrying a CRISPR/cas construct capable of simultaneously stimulating haploidy and editing the genome at a specified DNA site. Thanks to this technology, it became possible to improve haploid inducers by introducing various CRISPR/cas constructs into the haploid inducer genome for editing any DNA site. Maize haploid inducers are widely used in doubled haploid wheat breeding. The first experiments showed that the most effective haploid inducer for stimulating haploidy in wheat is maize pollen. Researchers are intensively searching for other ways of using maize haploid inducers in plant breeding.