Representatives of the genus Paeonia ( Paeonia L.) are economically and socially important ornamental plants. Moreover, some species are widely used in folk medicine. Various peony cultivars are prominent examples of active centuries-old plant breeding. They are commonly employed for soft landscaping of botanical gardens, urban landscapes, and household plots. With the development of molecular genetics, ornamental plant breeding received fresh impetus. Research has enabled the identification of markers that help to determine important ornamental and economic characteristics, such as the flower shape, leaf color, corolla color, degree of doubleness, and presence of fragrance. These advances accelerate the breeding process. Additionally, new cultivars can be certified quite accurately. Our article presents the results of the research aimed at testing the method of certification and verification of representatives of the genus Paeonia based on the variability in the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region. In the course of the analysis, we managed to identify the P. arientina species which had been included in the collection of the Botanical Garden of the Ural Branch of the RAS under a different taxonomic name ( P. mascula ). Additionally, we assessed the genetic diversity of the studied ribosomal DNA region, including the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 sequences of several other species. Total DNA was isolated using the CTAB method. The consecutive sequences were evaluated using various programs (Mega6, Bioedit, DNAxp). The research has revealed that all peony species we studied are characterized by high variability in the region under investigation. The number of polymorphic sites was 155, and the total number of mutations amounted to 164. The number of sites with a single mutation was high (126). Haplotype diversity (Hd) for all species under study equaled 0.978±0.019. We verified the identity of the taxa included in the collection of the Botanical Garden of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences based on the analyzed ITS region of the ribosomal DNA. The article concludes that it is appropriate to use the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region when certifying species of the genus Paeonia to include them in the collections of Botanical Gardens as it is difficult to identify some peony species solely by their morphological characteristics.

Береза карликовая ( Betula nana L.) - циркумполярный низкий кустарник, распространенный в Северном полушарии. Ранее были высказаны предположения о ее гибридизации с симпатическим видом - березой пушистой ( Betula pubescens Ehrh.) - с образованием триплоидных гибридов в северных районах Западной Евразии. Данные о наличии и интенсивности гибридизации этих видов на территории России немногочисленны и требуют дополнительного изучения и верификации. Цель данного исследования - изучение уровня плоидности некоторых образцов березы, произрастающих в горной тундре в Алтайском горном массиве, для выявления триплоидных гибридных форм. В работе использован метод проточной цитометрии в сочетании с анализом ядерных микросателлитных локусов. Среднее содержание ДНК (2С) у исследованных образцов березы карликовой и б. повислой ( B. pendula Roth) составило 0.966 и 0.974 пг соответственно, подтверждая их диплоидный геном, при этом значение этого показателя у предполагаемого гибридного образца отличалось в 1.46 раз и составило 1.413 пг, что свидетельствует о его вероятном триплоидном геноме. Анализ ядерных микросателлитных локусов позволил верифицировать данные, полученные методом проточной цитометрии. Показано, что ядерные локусы L3.1, L7.3, L1.10, L5.4 в наибольшей степени подходят для выявления триплоидных гибридных образцов берез. Выполненная работа подтверждает существование гибридов березы карликовой и б. пушистой в популяциях карликовых берез. Для их поиска эффективно использование метода проточной цитометрии в сочетании с микросателлитным анализом. Dwarf birch ( Betula nana L.) is a circumpolar low shrub common in the northern hemisphere. Previously, it was suggested that dwarf birch hybridize with a sympathetic species - the downy birch ( Betula pubescens Ehrh.), with the formation of triploid hybrids in the northern regions of Western Eurasia. Data on the presence and intensity of these species hybridization on the territory of the Russian Federation are scarce and require additional study and verification. The purpose of this study was to study the ploidy level of some birch representatives growing in the mountain tundra of the Altai Mountain range to identify hybrid forms. The work used the flow cytometry method in combination with the analysis of nuclear microsatellite loci. The average DNA content of the studied dwarf birch and silver birch ( B. pendula Roth) samples was 2С = 0.966 pg and 2С = 0.974 pg correspondingly, while DNA content of the putative hybrid sample was 1.46 times higher 2C = 1.413 pg, indicating its probable triploid genome. Analysis of nuclear microsatellite loci confirmed the data obtained by flow cytometry. It was shown that nuclear loci L3.1, L7.3, L1.10, L5.4 are most suitable for identifying triploid hybrid birch samples. The work performed confirms the existence of rare triploid hybrids dwarf birch and downy birch in populations of dwarf birch trees growing in the mountain tundra forest in Altai. The analysis shows that the flow cytometry method in combination with microsatellite analysis is an effective tool for searching and verifying triploid birch hybrids.

Science-based biotechnologies serve as the foundation for the development of modern highly productive environmentally friendly horticulture. The natural polymer chitosan, due to its high availability, biosafety, and synthetic flexibility, is an excellent basis to construct new agrobiotechnological tools that meet the requirements of the pharmaceutical and food industries. The results of studies of the growth-regulating action of N-(2-carboxyethyl)chitosan (CEC) in relation to seeds and young plants of Echinacea purpurea are presented. It is shown that chitosan alkyl derivatives are safe preparations that can be used successfully for the cultivation of food and medicinal plants, including rare and endangered species.

Birch (Betula L.) is a genus of approx. 60 species, subspecies or varieties with a wide distribution in the northern hemisphere. Understanding of systematics and evolution of this taxonomic group is of high practical importance, since most of the genus birch species are actively used in various industrial sectors and reforestation projects and are important forest tree species. The genus birch is considered to be one of the most complex among angiosperms. Taxonomy of birches has been revised several times, but systematic position of many representatives of the genus birch is being reconsidered today. Despite multiple comprehensive studies involving both morphological and molecular approaches a lot of unsolved issues remain in systematics and phylogeny of the genus birch. Main reasons for this include high variability of morphological characters, polyploidy, and intensive and widespread hybridization, which hampers identification of species. The purpose of the study is taxonomic analysis of the genus birch. Article discusses the features of birch introgressive hybridization, the origin of some species, summarizes the results of several molecular phylogenies based on various chloroplast and nuclear markers, and also lists birch representatives, whose taxonomic position is not confirmed by molecular genetic studies and requires additional study of natural populations using molecular markers. Various methods are used to determine the relationship between birch species: classical morphology analysis, chromosome number analysis and molecular genetic methods. One group of methods is not enough to clearly determine systematic position of some representatives of the genus birch. Therefore, the approach to the taxonomy and phylogeny of birches should be complex, using various modern methods complementing each other.

Изложены предварительные результаты анализа генетического полиморфизма региона ITS 1–2 ядерной рибосомальной ДНК Betula turkestanica Litv., B. tianschanica Rupr., B. procurva Litv., выполненного с целью прояснения таксономического статуса, филогенетических взаимоотношений и происхождения этих видов берез. Ареалы B. procurva, B. turkestanica, B. tianschanica охватывают территорию Центральной Азии (Памиро-Алтай), при этом B. procurva встречается изолировано от основного ареала в горной части Урала (зона бореальных лесов и Зауральская лесостепь). Эти виды берез обладают морфологическими признаками B. microphylla Bunge и B. pendula Roth, но имеют и отличительные особенности морфологии. Показан уровень дифференциации и распределение генетического разнообразия между группами гаплотипов, а также приводится генетическая сеть, демонстрирующая взаимоотношения между исследованными образцами. Основываясь на результатах генетического анализа, высказано предположение о происхождении и филогенетических взаимоотношениях B. procurva, B. turkestanica, B. tianshanica. Полученная сеть гаплотипов подтверждает гипотезу о возможном общем предке B. procurva, B. pendula из секции Betula (белые березы) и B. nana из секции Apterocaryon (карликовые березы). Сделан вывод об информативности региона ITS 1–2 ядерной рибосомальной ДНК для дифференциации исследованных видов берез на территории Кыргызстана. При этом наибольшее гаплотипическое разнообразие характерно для образцов B. procurva с дивергентным положением образцов Курганской группы, что свидетельствует о длительном существовании этой дизъюнкции. The article includes preliminary results of nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS 1–2 region analysis of Betula turkestanica Litv., Betula tianschanica Rupr., Betula procurva Litv. implemented for clarification of taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationship and origin of these birch species. The range of B. procurva, B. turkestanica, B. tianschanica, is confined to the mountain system in southeast Central Asia (Pamir-Altai). B. procurva has a disjunctive range and is also found isolated from the main range in the mountainous part of the Urals (boreal forests zone and the Trans-Ural forest-steppe). These birch species have morphological features of B. microphylla Bunge and B. pendula Roth, however they also possess distinctive morphological traits. The paper shows the level of differentiation and the distribution of genetic variability between groups of haplotypes, and also provides a genetic network which demonstrates the relationships between the studied samples. Based on the results of genetic analysis, the origin and phylogenetic relationships of B. procurva, B. turkestanica, B. tianshanica are suggested. The resulting haplotype network confirms the hypothesis of a possible common ancestor of B. procurva, B. pendula from the section Betula (white birches) and B. nana from the section Apterocaryon (dwarf birches). A conclusion is made about the informativity of the ITS 1–2 region of nuclear ribosomal DNA for the differentiation of the studied birch species on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, it is emphasized that the highest haplotype diversity is typical for B. procurva specimens with divergent position of the sample from the Kurgan region, which indicates the long-term existence of this disjunction.

Betula nana, B. humilis are shrub birch forms of the section Apterocaryon (dwarf birches), widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. The species are found on marsh, tundra and bald soils, often growing together on sphagnum bogs. There were suggestions about the hybridization of the diploid B. nana and B. humilis with the tetraploid downy birch B. pubescens from the section Betula (white birches). Attempts were made to study the presence and intensity of hybridization of these species using molecular genetic methods. The aim of the study is to investigate the genetic polymorphism of B. nana and B. humilis in the Middle Urals based on ITS markers of nuclear ribosomal DNA. These markers are for the first time studied in shrub birch forms on the Russian Federation territory. It is shown that the ITS 1-2 region is informative and makes it possible to differentiate closely related birch species B. humilis, B. nana growing in the Middle Urals. Species were characterized by individual ribotypes; B. nana samples had 5 ribotypes, and B. humilis samples had 2 ribotypes. Populations of B. nana showed greater variability in this region compared to B. humilis, which may indicate a higher adaptive potential of dwarf birch, as well as the absence of significant changes in the population size of this species during the last Quaternary glaciation.

Род береза ( Betula L.) включает около 60 видов, а также подвиды и разновидности, широко представленные в Северном полушарии. Понимание систематики и эволюции этой таксономически неоднородной группы имеет большое практическое значение, так как многие виды берез активно используются в различных отраслях промышленности, в проектах по восстановлению нарушенных земель и лесных массивов. Род береза считается одним из самых сложных среди покрытосеменных. Таксономия берез пересматривалась неоднократно, однако систематическое положение многих представителей этого рода и сегодня уточняется. Несмотря на многочисленные исследования, в систематике и филогении берез остается много нерешенных вопросов. Основные причины этого - высокая изменчивость фенотипических признаков, полиплоидия, а также интенсивная и широко распространенная гибридизация, затрудняющая идентификацию видов. Целью статьи является анализ состояния таксонов рода береза. Рассматриваются особенности интрогрессивной гибридизации берез, происхождение некоторых видов, систематизируются результаты нескольких молекулярных филогений, выполненных на основе различных хлоропластных и ядерных маркеров, а также приводятся представители березы, таксономическое положение которых не подтверждается молекулярно-генетическими исследованиями и требует дополнительного изучения природных популяций с использованием молекулярных маркеров. Для определения взаимоотношений между видами берез используются различные методы: классический анализ морфологии, анализ числа хромосом и молекулярно-генетические. Одной группы методов оказывается недостаточно для четкого определения систематического положения некоторых представителей рода береза, поэтому подход к таксономии и филогении берез должен быть комплексным с применением различных современных методов, дополняющих друг друга. Birch ( Betula L.) is a genus of approx. 60 species, subspecies or varieties with a wide distribution in the northern hemisphere. Understanding of systematics and evolution of this taxonomic group is of high practical importance, since most of the genus birch species are actively used in various industrial sectors and reforestation projects and are important forest tree species. The genus birch is considered to be one of the most complex among angiosperms. Taxonomy of birches has been revised several times, but systematic position of many representatives of the genus birch is being reconsidered today. Despite multiple comprehensive studies involving both morphological and molecular approaches a lot of unsolved issues remain in systematics and phylogeny of the genus birch. Main reasons for this include high variability of morphological characters, polyploidy, and intensive and widespread hybridization, which hampers identification of species. The purpose of the study is taxonomic analysis of the genus birch. Article discusses the features of birch introgressive hybridization, the origin of some species, summarizes the results of several molecular phylogenies based on various chloroplast and nuclear markers, and also lists birch representatives, whose taxonomic position is not confirmed by molecular genetic studies and requires additional study of natural populations using molecular markers. Various methods are used to determine the relationship between birch species: classical morphology analysis, chromosome number analysis and molecular genetic methods. One group of methods is not enough to clearly determine systematic position of some representatives of the genus birch. Therefore, the approach to the taxonomy and phylogeny of birches should be complex, using various modern methods complementing each other.

Analysis of chloroplast DNA sequences revealed a high polymorphism of the length and nucleotide composition of trnF–trnV and the intron trnL for Helmia section species of the genus Astragalus (Fabaceae). Molecular genetic studies of Astragalus species of the Helmia section were previously practically not carried out; sequencing of trnF–trnV and the intron trnL of chloroplast DNA for 7 species of the section, as well as the probable intersection hybrid Astragalus arcanus held for the first time. On the basis of genetic studies, clarified the relationship between species included in the section Helmia. The possible stages of sect. Helmia evolution are discussed. The taxonomic isolation of Astragalus permiensis has been confirmed; it is assumed not to be of Uralic, but of Siberian or Central Asian origin. Astragalus ionae belongs to the section Helmia is confirmed. Astragalus depauperatus s. l. is thought to be a complex of twin species. In this article, one of them is considered in the status of the species A. chakassiensis. Copy Translate

Received: February 23rd, 2021 ; Accepted: April 10th, 2021 ; Published: April 14th, 2021 ; Correspondence: lili.khamidullina@gmail.com

The growth-regulating properties of chitosan derivatives were studied in vitro on several types of medicinal plants. Carboxyethyl chitosan demonstrated the best effect on Echinacea plants.

The effect of two synthesized compounds of the 1,2,3-triazolo[5,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazine class as well as three known plant growth regulators (gibberellic acid, thidiazurone and 6-benzylaminopyrine)on seed germination and growth of seedlings of B. napus of the “Heros” linear variety was studied. It was shown that treatment with gibberellic acid slowed the germination of seeds especially at the concentration of 10 mg/L. Treatment with TT1 and TT2 compounds at a concentration of 5 mg/L had the best effect on seed germination and seedling growth.

In this paper the results of the in vitro study of synthesized derivatives 1,2,3-triazolo-1,3,4-thiadiazine on morpho- and rhizogenesis, as well as tuberization of microplants of the "Irbitskiy" potato variety are described. It has been shown that the use of compounds of this series is very promising for acceleration of growth and development of explants. In this study, substance T6 showed the best results. By the number of rudiments of tubers on the stolons, plants grown on nutrient media with T3 were prominent, however, by quality indicators for nutrient media with T6 was better. 1,2,3-Triazolo-1,3,4-thiadazine T6, which showed the most pronounced results, is recommended for further study of the possibility of its use in potato production.

The results of molecular-genetic studies on the Scots pine cenopopulations from the isolated gorges of the Central Caucasus are given. The quantitative assessment of genetic differentiation degree for the Scots pine cenopopulations from different altitudes in the area under survey has shown reliable differences between the studied samples of subpopulations and local populations by means of Nei distances.

The distribution of nine chloroplast DNA haplotypes in four insular North-Atlantic and four European coastal Atlantic populations of Calluna vulgaris in the glacial zone of the range has been analyzed in comparison with that in six marginal southern populations in the nonglacial zone of the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions. As a result, two hypothetical Pleistocene refugia (HPRs) for this C. vulgaris population group have been revealed, one in the Cévennes mountain range and the other in the Southern Alps (Trento). Judging from the 1–FST value, it has been found that the group of populations in the glacial Atlantic zone and adjacent European coastal Atlantic region is genetically similar to the HPR in the Cévennes at a highly significant level (p ≥ 0.999) and less similar to the HPR in Trento; however, it differs significantly from other Mediterranean and Atlantic populations. It has been concluded that the most probable hypothetical Pleistocene refugium for the recent C. vulgaris populations of the northeastern Atlantic and European coastal Atlantic regions was in the west of the Mediterranean, in the Cévennes, while the additional refugium was in the Southern Alps. Possible directions of the postglacial dispersal and recolonization of habitats by C. vulgaris populations from the western Mediterranean to the northeast of the Atlantic and to Scandinavia have been revealed.

В итоге сравнительного анализа распространения 9 гаплотипов хлоропластной ДНК в четырех островных северо-атлантических и четырех европейских приатлантических популяциях Calluna vulgaris ледниковой зоны ареала, с одной стороны, а также в шести маргинальных южных популяциях внеледниковой зоны Атлантики и Средиземноморья, с другой, выявлены два гипотетичных плейстоценовых рефугиума (ГПР) этого вида. По параметру 1-FST установлено, что изучавшаяся группа популяций ледниковой зоны Атлантики и смежной европейской Приатлантики на высоко достоверном уровне (р 0.999) генетически сходна с ГПР в Севеннах, в меньшей мере с ГПР в Тренто, но резко отличается от других тестированных популяций Средиземноморья и Атлантики. Сделан вывод о том, что наиболее вероятный гипотетический плейстоценовый рефугиум для современных популяций C. vulgaris северо-восточной Атлантики и Приатлантики располагался на западе Средиземноморья, в горном массиве Севенны, а аддитивный - в Южных Альпах (Тренто). Выявлены вероятные направления пост- гляциальной реколонизация популяций C. vulgaris из западного Средиземноморья на северо-запад Атлантики и в Скандинавию.