BREEDING OF EARLY MATURING SOYBEAN VARIETIES IN EAST KAZAKHSTAN

Since 2001, the East Kazakhstan Research Institute of Agriculture has been conducting the work aimed at the development and study of the collection of ultra-early and early soybean accessions in order to obtain new early-maturing and high-yielding cultivars adapted to the soil and climate environment of East Kazakhstan Region. As a result of breeding efforts embracing the whole scheme from hybridization and individual selection to routine and competitive trials, the new soybean cultivars ‘Birlik KV’ (2014) and ‘Vostochnaya Krasavitsa’ (2016), with earlier maturity and higher yield than the references, were submitted for State Variety Trials of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2017, the cultivar ‘Birlik KV’ was approved for cultivation in East Kazakhstan Region

Evaluation of naked oat accessions from the VIR collection for their qualitative characteristics in Kazakhstan

Background. The grain of naked oat varieties has a unique biochemical composition (increased content of protein, starch, fat, and β-glucans) for the production of high-quality dietary food and feed. Relatively low adaptability restrains the spread of naked oat cultivars, but the demand for them has been increasing from year to year. Currently, only hulled oat cultivars are introduced into industrial cultivation in Kazakhstan, so the breeding trend aimed at the development of high-yielding naked oat cultivars may be regarded as a priority.Materials and methods. Thirty-five accessions of naked oats (Avena  sativa L.  subsp. nudisativa (Husnot.) Rod. et Sold.) were selected from the germplasm collection of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) for their suitability for the conditions in Kazakhstan in terms of the growing season, drought resistance and grain productivity. The study was carried out in 2015–2017 in the fields of the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Crop Production (Almaty) and the Karabalyk Agricultural Experimental Station (Kostanay). Grain quality of naked oats was assessed by various methods according to a set of biochemical characters: the content of protein and its fractions, starch, amylose, fat and fatty acids, and β-glucans.Results. The study of naked oat accessions from VIR in the environments of the southeastern Kazakhstan showed higher average values of protein content in grain than under the conditions in the north. As a result of the study, naked oat accessions with increased and stable indicators of the content of protein, starch, amylose, fat, individual fatty acids and β-glucans were identified for the conditions of the southeastern and northern regions of Kazakhstan. All selected accessions will be used in breeding programs of the Republic of Kazakhstan to develop high-yielding and high-quality naked oat cultivars

Genetic potential of quality in spring bread wheat cultivars bred at Kurgan agricultural research institute

Background. For the Trans-Urals, characterized by unstable climate over the years (alternating droughty and excessively moist years, recurrences of colds in spring, possibility of early frosts, etc.), grain quality is a prioritized genetic trait in spring bread wheat cultivars. In Kurgan Province, the share of thirdclass wheat varied since 1994 from 43% to 96%; only in the recent unfavorable years (2015 – 2017) it dropped to 11 – 27% due to rust epidemics. The aim of the study was to characterize the genetic potential of grain quality and its phenotypic implementation in promising cultivars bred at Kurgan Agricultural Research Institute and officially released for cultivation in the region.Materials and methods. The capacities of the KASIB4 – 13 (Kazakhstan–Siberia Wheat Improvement Network under the auspices of CIMMYT) represented by 17 breeding centers in Kazakhstan and Siberia were used to assess grain quality of 14 cultivars with different maturation time bred at Kurgan Agricultural Research Institute. Quality assessment was performed with due regard to the standards of Kazakhstan, CIS, and leading exporting countries, thus combining local and international levels, and employing genetic, biochemical and technological grain quality levels under different soil and climate conditions.Results and discussion. Generally, all cultivars demonstrated protein and gluten content and the level of vitreousness sufficient for strong and valuable wheat. The selected percentage was 92% for hard grain and medium hard grain wheat forms, up to 94% for high-protein and high-gluten ones, and up to 57% for genotypes without 1B/1R wheat/rye translocation. In terms of sedimentation, 86% of the genotypes were predicted to belong to the strong and valuable wheat class; according to the composition of HMW glutenin subunits, mixing quality and flour strength (W), 30 – 42% were identified as high-quality genotypes. The in-depth study of grain quality within the KASIB environmental network revealed heterogeneity among cultivars in a number of genetic and biochemical parameters and provided an opportunity to select high-quality genotypes by marker characteristics and technological properties, which is likely to improve the efficiency of intra-cultivar selection and overall quality assessment of cultivars

Kazakhstan-Siberian spring common wheat identification according to glutenin and gliadin composition

Within ten years, the Kazakhstan-Siberian nursery net for spring common wheat improvement (KASIB) working under the auspices of CIMMYT (Intenational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) characterized accessions of five cultivar blocks with regard to the compositions of gliadin (1B/1R translocation), glutenin HMW and LMW subunits, and grain hardness. HMW glutenin compositions for 188 homogeneous variety samples are given in accordance with UPOV (Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) regulations and 27, 28 and 29 features in tests for uniformity, distinctness, and stability. Most spring wheat cultivars possess the glutenin spectra 2* 7+9 5+10” (40 %), “2* 7+9 2+12” (up to 30 %), and “17+95+10” (8 %). The Kazakhstan varietal gene pool includes genotypes with a new subunit 4 + 10 on 1D in samples of Erythrospermum 55/94-01-20 and Phyton 41. Cultivar Iridost is noted as carrying the relatively rare allele 5,5 + 10 on chromosome 1D. This allele was previously identified in Tselinogradka, Tselinnaya 24, and Akmola 3 cultivars. The rare subunit 7*+ 8 is typically present in E-607 and E-757. The last three KASIB blocks (8-9; 10-11; 12-13) show higher levels of uniformity: up to 74–84 %. The 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocation is more frequently identified in accessions by Siberian Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture and Eastern Kazakhstan Research Institute of Agriculture breeding in each KASIB block and also in all the accessions presented by the companies Kurgansemena and Agrosemkonsal and selected by the Fiton company. Varieties Altaiskaya 105, Kurganskaya 5, Lutescens 1300, Phyton 42, Lutescens 53/95-98-1, Lutescens 53/88-94-12, Lutescens 54; Lutescens 30-94, Erythrospermum 607, and Aktobe 1574 showed the whole range of variability in grain hardness (from middle soft to hard) under different growth conditions

A study of the genetic diversity in the world soybean collection using microsatellite markers associated with fungal disease resistance

Background. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) gradually becomes one of the leading legume crops in Kazakhstan. The area under soybeans in the country has been increasing annually and requires the development of adapted cultivars with a higher yield, improved quality characters, and resistance to emerging fungal diseases. The enlargement of the crop’s gene pool also suggests the need to study and document local soybean accessions to meet the standards of the available world soybean collection by using reliable and informative types of DNA markers.Materials and methods. In this study, the soybean collection consisting of 288 accessions from different countries, including 36 cultivars and promising lines from Kazakhstan, was studied. The molecular genetic analysis was performed using nine polymorphic SSR (simple sequence repeats) markers, seven of which (Satt244, Satt565, Satt038, Satt309, Satt371, Satt570 and Sat_308) were associated with resistance to three main fungal diseases of soybean – frogeye leaf spot, fusarium root rot, and purple seed stain.Results. The average PIC (polymorphism information content) value of the analyzed SSR markers constituted 0.66 ± 0.07, confirming their highlevel polymorphism. The principal coordinate analysis suggested that the local accessions were genetically most close to the accessions from East Asia. As the collection showed a robust resistance to three studied fungal diseases in Almaty Region during 2018–2019, the distribution of the studied SSR markers in the population was not significantly associated with resistance to the analyzed diseases under field conditions.Conclusion. SSR genotyping of the soybean collection helped to identify accessions that potentially possess resistance-associated alleles of fungal disease resistance genes. The data obtained can be further used for the development of DNA documentation and the breeding the promising cultivars and lines of soybean

Fe, Zn AND S CONTENT IN DOUBLED HAPLOID LINES OF CHINESE SPRING × SQ1 WHEAT POPULATION

A mapping population of 95 doubled haploid lines of wheat Triticum aestivum L., raised by crosses between cultivar Chinese Spring (CS) and line SQ1, was grown in irrigated and rainfed conditions of South-East Kazakhstan (1998–2008 years), studied for grain quality traits, and characterized for Fe, Zn, and S content in grains. In addition to previous studies associated with grain productivity and drought stress torelance (Quarrie et al., 2005) and grain quality traits (Abugalieva et al., 2008), the range of variation in micronutrient contents in wheat grains of the CS × SQ1 doubled haploid population provides an excellent opportunity for identification of quantitative trait loci that control the amounts of Fe, Zn, and S in grains. Doubled haploid lines with stable high content of Fe and Zn grown in irrigated and rainfed conditions were obtained on the base of the referred work. The lines can be used in biofortification of spring wheat in Kazakhstan. The results reveal significant correlation indices between Zn and protein contents in grains. They may be important in local breeding programs for the improvement of productivity and grain quality

Comparative assessment of the yield components of the tetraploid wheat world collection

Nowadays, a large number of cultivars of various origins are attracted to the wheat breeding improvement, and as a result, an assessment of the accessions\u2019 yield in various agroclimatic conditions is required. Genotype-environment interaction is the main reason for the fact that in different years and (or) in other conditions of cultivation, cultivars and lines differ in rank according to the level of the yield. The study aims to investigate the suitability and adaptability of accessions of world tetraploid wheat collection, including durum wheat cultivars, to the Kazakhstan conditions. Three hundred twenty-eight (328) tetraploid wheat accessions of different genetic and geographical origin were grown in 2 randomized replicates in two contrasting regions of Kazakhstan \u2013 Kostanay region on the North and Almaty region on the South-east of the country. Phenological observations and structural analysis were conducted following Dospekhov and the Zadoks scale. Correlations coefficients among all characters (days to tillering, days to booting, days to heading, days to anthesis, days to maturity, plant height, peduncle length, number of fertile spikes per plant, spike length, number of kernels per spike, weight of kernels per spike, number of kernels per plant, 1000 kernels weight) were computed using GraphPad software. To assess the contribution of genotypic and environmental variability to the total phenotypic variation of yield and the main economically valuable traits, we evaluated the genotype-environment interaction. Productive and adapted accessions for the both Almaty and Kostanay regions were selected. The data of phenological observations and structural analysis will be used in a genome-wide association study for the traits, related to productivity and quality

Innate Immunomodulatory Activity of Cedrol, a Component of Essential Oils Isolated from Juniperus Species

Little is known about the immunomodulatory activity of essential oils isolated from Juniperus species. Thus, we isolated essential oils from the cones and leaves of eight juniper species found in Montana and in Kazakhstan, including J. horizontalis, J. scopolorum, J. communis, J. seravschanica, J. sabina, J. pseudosabina, J. pseudosabina subsp. turkestanica, and J. sibirica. We report here the chemical composition and innate immunomodulatory activity of these essential oils. Compositional analysis of the 16 samples of Juniper essential oils revealed similarities and differences between our analyses and those previously reported for essential oils from this species. Our studies represent the first analysis of essential oils isolated from the cones of four of these Juniper species. Several essential oil samples contained high levels of cedrol, which was fairly unique to three Juniper species from Kazakhstan. We found that these essential oils and pure (+)-cedrol induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in human neutrophils. Furthermore, pretreatment of human neutrophils and N-formyl peptide receptor 1 and 2 (FPR1 and FPR2) transfected HL60 cells with these essential oils or (+)-cedrol inhibited agonist-induced Ca2+ mobilization, suggesting these responses were desensitized by this pretreatment. In support of this conclusion, pretreatment with essential oils from J. seravschanica cones (containing 16.8% cedrol) or pure (+)-cedrol inhibited human neutrophil chemotaxis to N-formyl peptide. Finally, reverse pharmacophore mapping predicted several potential kinase targets for cedrol. Thus, our studies have identified cedrol as a novel neutrophil agonist that can desensitize cells to subsequent stimulation by N-formyl peptide