Background. European plum is one of the most widespread stone-fruit crops in the Central Black Earth Region. The State Register for Selection Achievements Admitted for Usage in 2024 included 14 cultivars of European plum. Eight of them were developed at the I.V. Michurin Federal Scientific Center. However, the existing assortment fails to meet the requirements for modern cultivars. It is necessary to increase the resistance of cultivars to the abiotic stressors of the winter and growing seasons, and to the most harmful diseases. A genotype should combine adaptability with high yield and fruit quality.Material and methods. A new cultivar of European plum, ‘Vengerka Kursakova’, was developed at the I.V. Michurin Federal Scientific Center, as a result of pollinating cv. ‘Renclod Tambovsky’ with the pollen of ‘Vengerka Kodrinskaya’. The authors of the cultivar are G. A. Kursakov and R. E. Bogdanov. The experimental plantings are located on the site of the I.V. Michurin Breeding and Genetic Center (Michurinsk). The evaluation was performed using conventional techniques of variety testing for fruit crops.Results and conclusions. ‘Vengerka Kursakova’ is adapted to the agroclimatic conditions of the Central Black Earth Region. It manifested frost resistance and high drought resistance. Its plants showed increased resistance to shothole blight (2.0 points) and were not affected by red spot. The new cultivar demonstrated stable annual yields, good taste (4.5 points), and valuable chemical composition of its fruit. Prunus domestica ‘Vengerka Kursakova’ is recommended for widespread cultivation in the Central Black Earth Region.
Background. Barley leaf rust is a harmful disease of barley in Russia and worldwide. In Krasnodar Territory, as well as in the Republic of Dagestan, this disease has been recorded every year. Dagestan, a geographically isolated terrain with contrasting climate conditions, harbors a diversity of wild barleys. The virulence of the Puccinia hordei Otth. population in Dagestan has not been studied, but this issue is of interest for establishing the boundaries for the North Caucasian population and for monitoring possible invasions of the pathogen’s populations from adjacent areas.Materials and methods. Virulence of the studied populations was analyzed on 15 barley cultivars and lines from international and Australian differential sets. Infectious types were registered using the Levine and Cherewick scale. Nei’s genetic diversity index (Hs) was employed to calculate the diversity of the populations in their virulence, and Nei’s genetic distance (N) for the differences between the populations.Results and conclusions. Virulence of 76 monouredinial P. hordei isolates from Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Dagestan was analyzed. Most of the isolates were virulent to Rph1, Rph2, Rph3, Rph4, Rph5, Rph6 + Rph2, Rph8, Rph12, Rph21 + Rph2, and Rph25. The Dagestan population had no isolates virulent to Rph7 and Rph9, while the isolates virulent to Rph13 and Rph14 predominated. The difference between the populations scored 0.04 according to Nei, and the diversity of the Krasnodar and Dagestan populations was 0.18 and 0.32, respectively. The pathogen’s populations from both regions were saturated with isolates with high content of virulent alleles and had no significant differences in Nei’s index. At the same time, the population from Dagestan demonstrated higher diversity in the frequencies of virulence genes.
Background. Haploid inducer lines of maize are used for accelerated selection in the doubled haploid (DH) technology to obtain homozygous lines. The anthocyanin coloration controlled by the R1-nj and C1 genes and the Navajo phenotype serve as key markers for identifying haploid grains. However, the variability and composition of anthocyanins may reduce the accuracy of visual selection. The objective was to determine the qualitative and quantitative composition of anthocyanins in maize haploid inducer lines.Materials and methods. Spectrophotometric screening of 125 maize haploid inducer lines for the total anthocyanin content was performed. Individual anthocyanin compositions were determined for a representative set of 35 lines using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results. The total anthocyanin content in each line ranged from 14 to 203.6 mg/100 g. All the lines contained 16 anthocyanin compounds, 10 of which were identified. For the first time, two isomeric forms of the anthocyanin marker cyanidin-3-(6-malonyl) glucoside (Cy-3-(6-mal)Glu) were shown for haploid inducer lines. Cluster analysis divided the lines into two groups, where either non-acylated or acylated forms predominated. Unique genotypes were identified among the lines: GI-1 (7343) 7026 with the maximum total content of anthocyanins (203.6 mg/100 g), GI-8097-2 with the highest content of cyanidin-3-glucoside (Cy-3-Glu), and GI-97Y165-4 (8495) 7338 chern. as a source of the alternative anthocyanin marker peonidin-3-glucoside (Peo-3-Glu).Conclusion. The same Navajo phenotype was manifested in different anthocyanin profiles. Lines with acylated forms are preferable for DH technologies due to the increased stability of pigments. The selected genotypes can be recommended as donors for the development of new haploid inducer lines with improved marker properties.
Background. Developing robust polymorphic marker systems is a priority for potato (Solanum tuberosum). Molecular markers enable precise cultivar identification, which is essential for intellectual property protection and seed material profiling. Anthocyanin biosynthesis is a complex polygenic process controlled by multiple structural and regulatory loci. A key role in the initiation of this cascade is played by the regulatory gene StAN1 (encoding the MYB transcription factor), which is characterized by a high level of structural polymorphism in the third exon. Studying the individual polymorphism of this locus opens new opportunities for the precise description of potato genotypes and makes the StAN1 marker system a valuable tool for genetic screening. The objective of this study was to investigate the polymorphism and inheritance patterns of the StAN1 third exon marker system and evaluate its potential for potato genotyping and genetic profiling.Materials and methods. Cultivars and hybrids with diverse organ pigmentation were studied. Inheritance was analyzed in the progenies from the ‘Irbitskiy’ × ‘Darnitsa’ and ‘Ocharovanie’ × ‘Bellarosa’ crosses. Gene variants were identified using primers targeting the third exon, characterized by polymorphic repeats.Results. Analyzing the distribution of the marker system elements in the ‘Irbitskiy’ × ‘Darnitsa’ population revealed a tetrasomic pattern of inheritance for individual allelic variants at the StAN1 locus. Segregation ratios were 35 : 1 for r0, and 1 : 1 for r2 and r3, enabling the determination of parental allelic states (duplex, simplex, or nulliplex). In a set of 66 accessions, r1 (98.5%) and r0 (95.5%) variants predominated, while r2 (45.6%) and r3 (17.6%) were less frequent. No direct correlations between specific marker variants and the pigmentation phenotype were found.Conclusion. High polymorphism of the StAN1 system and the combinatorial pattern of its allelic inheritance would make it an effective tool for genotypic description and molecular certification of potato cultivars.
Background. Interspecific hybridization is one of the key ways of plant speciation. In 2017, we studied the collection site of the South-Siberian Botanical Garden (SSBG, Barnaul) and collected several Allium L. samples having morphological characters intermediate between A. nutans L. and A. spirale Willd. plants grown nearby. The areas of distribution of these species do not overlap, but both species belong to sect. Rhizirideum G. Don ex W.D.J. Koch. The objective of our work was to confirm the hybrid origin of the specimens using molecular genetic methods, flow cytometry, and karyology.Materials and methods. Fresh leaves and seeds from live plants of A. nutans, A. spirale, and their putative hybrids were used in the study. Root tips isolated from germinated seeds served to analyze the Allium chromosomes in mitosis. Flow cytometry was performed on Cytoflex (Beckman Coulter, USA) and CyFlow PA (Partec, Germany) cytometers, with A. fistulosum L., and Vicia faba L. ‘Inovec’ used as internal standards. DNA was extracted using a DiamondDNA kit (ABT, Russia) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Nuclear (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and chloroplast (trnQ-rps16) DNA fragments were amplified, purified, and sequenced by Sanger. The obtained sequences were analyzed in Chromas 2.6.4, and in MEGA7.Results. Plants of A. nutans yielded seeds with different ploidy levels. The seed progeny of hybrid forms also had different chromosome numbers. The analysis of ITS fragments of nuclear DNA confirmed the hybrid origin of the specimens. The rps16 sequences of the alleged hybrids were identical to the sequences of A. nutans from the SSBG, which confirmed its maternal status.Conclusion. For the first time we found A. nutans × A. spirale hybrids under plant introduction conditions. Those cases of spontaneous hybridization make it possible to perform direct crosses between these species and obtain new ornamental cultivars and varieties in the genus Allium.
