Genetic resources in Russia: from collections to bioresource centers

Collections of bioresources and a set of technologies for their conservation, study and practical use are now the basis of bioeconomy, biosafety, and food security. It is the foundation underpinning production chains, leading from basic research to various technological areas and industries.An analysis of the current state and an assessment of the prospects for the development of bioresource collections in the Russian Federation are presented. Regularities of the transformation from genebanks into bioresource centers and the trend towards integration network interaction among the collections of the same type are considered. The observed trends are analyzed in detail employing the case study of the development of plant genetic resources collections. The current tendencies of their management set by Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation No. 44 “On the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources” and No. 45 “On the Interdepartmental Commission on the Formation, Preservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources Collections” dated February 8, 2022, are discussed

A strategy of the new “green revolution” in wheat breeding: celebrating the jubilee of Lyudmila A. Bespalova, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

On April 2, 2022, the national and international scientific communities who specialize in wheat breeding and agricultural producers in the wheat sector celebrated the birthday jubilee of Acad. Lyudmila A. Bespalova, a renowned breeder and head of the Department of Wheat and Triticale Breeding and Seed Production at the P.P. Lukyanenko National Grain Center.The main result achieved by L.A. Bespalova’s team is more than 170 cultivars of various wheat species and triticale, including over 100 bread wheat cultivars that supply about 10% of worldwide grain harvests of this staple crop, most important for the existence of mankind. The team succeeded in commercializing their competitive wheat cultivars with unique combinations of agronomic traits (grain quality, adaptability to abiotic and biotic stressors, short growing season, etc.) because they developed and implemented a new industrial breeding system, unmatched in the world. In its essence, the approach developed under the leadership of L. A. Bespalova at the P.P. Lukyanenko National Grain Center is a practically proven strategy of the new “green revolution” capable of ensuring the global food security

Wheat, barley and maize genes editing using the CRISPR/Cas system

Precise editing of the genes of plant organisms with complex genomes has long been a difficult task. The CRISPR/Cas technology developed in the last decade has become one of the preferred tools for site-directed mutagenesis of plant genes and has quickly replaced the ZFN and TALEN systems. However, while the CRISPR/Cas system has proven to be an effective tool for modifying the genome of diploid species, its application to organisms such as cereals with complex and, in the case of common wheat, polyploid genomes is complicated by a number of obstacles. This review summarizes the main results obtained using the CRISPR/Cas system in such economically valuable cereals as common wheat Triticum aestivum L., barley Hordeum vulgare L., and maize Zea mays L., the genome structure of which increases the probability of the emergence of non-target mutations and reduces the specificity of editing. Every year the number of methodological publications on the directed mutagenesis of these crops, aimed at optimizing and improving the performance of the CRISPR/Cas system, increases exponentially, and the editing efficiency reaches 100% for maize and barley. The experimental articles are mainly aimed at improving the economically important traits of plants, such as improved yields, nutritional value and resistance to diseases and herbicides. Plant improvement is also associated with editing genes that affect pollination control, which is used in hybrid breeding. This creates the prerequisites for the creation of new maize, barley and wheat varieties, and for the saturation of existing ones with the necessary properties

Molecular genetic bases of seed resistance to oxidative stress during storage

Conservation of plant genetic diversity, including economically important crops, is the foundation for food safety. About 90 % of the world’s crop genetic diversity is stored as seeds in genebanks. During storage seeds suffer physiological stress consequences, one of which is the accumulation of free radicals, primarily reactive oxygen species (ROS). An increase in ROS leads to oxidative stress, which negatively affects the quality of seeds and can lead to a complete loss of their viability. The review summarizes data on biochemical processes that affect seed longevity. The data on the destructive effect of free radicals towards plant cell macromolecules are analyzed, and the ways to eliminate excessive ROS in plants, the most important of which is the glutathioneascorbate pathway, are discussed. The relationship between seed dormancy and seed longevity is examined. Studying seeds of different plant species revealed a negative correlation between seed dormancy and longevity, while various authors who researched Arabidopsis seeds reported both positive and negative correlations between dormancy and seed longevity. A negative correlation between seed dormancy and viability probably means that seeds are able to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This review provides a summary of Arabidopsis genes associated with seed viability. By now, a significant number of loci and genes affecting seed longevity have been identified. This review contains a synopsis of modern studies on the viability of barley seeds. QTLs associated with barley seed longevity were identified on chromosomes 2H, 5H and 7H. In the QTL regions studied, the Zeo1, Ale, nud, nadp-me, and HvGR genes were identified. However, there is still no definite answer as to which genes would serve as markers of seed viability in a certain plant species

The genetic diversity of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinaceae L.) assessed by isozyme markers

The reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) is a wild-growing rhizomatous perennial cereal plant. This is a valuable forage and decorative crop, widely spread over all the continents except for Antarctic. So far, the reed canarygrass has become rather demanded in many European countries as a source of bioenergy. Among the major advantages of the reed canarygrass are high biomass yield, ecological stability, tolerance, and high seed production. Similar to most of wild-growing plants, the reed canarygrass is poorly studied. In the current study, the genetic diversity of a reed canarygrass collection (42 populations collected in meadow biocenoses of several regions in Russia and some other countries) was investigated using isozyme markers IDH (isocitrate dehydrogenase), GDH (glutamate dehydrogenase), MDH (malate dehydrogenase), ME (malic enzyme), and SKDH (shikimate dehydrogenase). Genetic control of these enzymes was determined in reed canarygrass for the first time. IDH and ME are controlled each by one locus (Idh and Me, respectively), SKDH and GDH have digenic control (loci Skdh1 and -2; Gdh1 and -2, respectively), MDH is controlled by 3 loci (Mdh1, -2 and -3). A number of alleles per locus varied from 1 to 3. High activities in different organs and tissues, as well as codominant inheritance make isozymes convenient genetic markers in various studies into ecological and population genetics, especially in plant species, like reed canarygrass, with unsequenced genome. Cluster analysis based on isozyme data distinguished 22 diverse groups. The degree of genetic similarity was not related with geographical origin of the material

On the anniversary of the President of the Vavilov Society of Geneticists and Breeders Academician Igor Anatolyevich Tikhonovich

On January 1, 2024, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Anatolyevich Tikhonovich, an outstanding specialist in the field of genetics of plant-microbial interactions, a prominent higher education teacher and organizer of science, turned 75 years old. He has published more than 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, prepared 10 monographs and textbooks, and received 12 patents. Academician Tikhonovich led the All-Russian Institute of Agricultural Microbiology for more than forty years, which under his leadership developed into a leading internationally recognized scientific school in the field of symbiogenetics. One of the most important conceptual generalizations formulated by I.A. Tikhonovich was the principle of complementarity of genomes. Under the leadership and with the direct participation of Igor Anatolyevich, the formation and development of new Master’s degree programs in agrobiotechnology and molecular biology of plants was started at St. Petersburg State University and the Sirius University of Science and Technology. During the leadership of Igor Anatolyevich, the Vavilov Society of Genetics and Breeders was replenished with new departments and held a number of important scientific events, including the VII Congress of VOGiS and the “Russian Genetic Resources” Forums.Friends and associates, the community of geneticists and breeders of the Russian Federation warmly congratulate Igor Anatolyevich on his anniversary and wish him major scientific discoveries, new pedagogical achievements and the attainment of all his goals

On the anniversary of the breeder Grigory Fedorovich Monakhos

On March 20, 2024, an outstanding Russian breeder Grigory Fedorovich Monakhos, Head of a scientific school in the field of vegetable breeding, turned 70 years old. The labor, scientific and pedagogical activities of Grigory Fedorovich for more than forty years have been associated with «Timiryazevka” – the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. Grigory Fedorovich is the author/co-author of more than 70 hybrids of vegetable crops, of which more than 40 are of white cabbage. In his breeding work, G.F. Monakhos paid the greatest attention to the most complex aspects: the genetic resistance of plants to phytopathogens and pests. Under his leadership, 18 candidates of science defended their theses. G.F. Monakhos is a co-author of more than 130 publications, including a textbook and educational manuals. Grigory Fedorovich is a member of the editorial boards of scientific journals “Izvestiya of Timiryazev Agricultural Academy” and “Potato and Vegetables”

NGS sequencing in barley breeding and genetic studies

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the one of the most important cereal species used as food and feed crops, as well as for malting and alcohol production. At the end of the last century, traditional breeding techniques were complemented by the use of DNA markers. Molecular markers have also been used extensively for molecular genetic mapping and QTL analysis. In 2012, the barley genome sequencing was completed, which provided a broad range of new opportunities – from a more efficient search for candidate genes controlling economically important traits to genomic selection. The review summarizes the results of the studies performed after barley genome sequencing, which discovered new areas of barley genetics and breeding with high throughput screening and genotyping methods. During this period, intensive studies aimed at identification of barley genomic loci associated with economically important traits have been carried out; online databases and tools for working with barley genomic data and their deposition have appeared and are being replenished. In recent years, GWAS analysis has been used for large-scale phenotypegenotype association studies, which has been widely used in barley since 2010 due to the developed SNP-arrays, as well as genotyping methods based on direct NGS sequencing of selected fractions of the genome. To date, more than 80 papers have been published that describe the results of the GWAS analysis in barley. SNP identification associated with economically important traits and their transformation into CAPS or KASP markers convenient for screening selection material significantly expands the possibilities of marker-assisted selection of barley. In addition, the currently available information on potential target genes and the quality of the whole barley genome sequence provides a good base for applying genome editing technologies to create material for the creation of varieties with desired properties

Differently expressed ‘Early’ flavonoid synthesis genes in wheat seedlings become to be co-regulated under salinity stress

Synthesis of flavonoid compounds in plants is associated with their response to environmental stress; however, the way in which the transcription of the relevant structural genes is regulated in stressed plants is still obscure. Transcription of the ‘early’ flavonoid synthesis genes Chi-1 and F3h-1 in the wheat coleoptile was investigated by quantitative real-time PCR in seedlings exposed to 100 mM or 200 mM NaCl. Under mild stress, transcript abundance of both Chi-1 and F3h-1 was increased significantly after six days of exposure. Under severe stress, the level of transcription was the same or even lower than that seen in nonstressed seedlings. In non-stressed conditions, the transcription patterns of Chi-1 and F3h-1 were quite distinct from one another, whereas under stress they became similar. An observed alteration in structural genes regulation mode under stress conditions may optimize flavonoid biosynthesis pathway to produce protective compounds with maximum efficiency

GENES DETERMINING THE SYNTHESIS OF LAVONOID AND MELANIN PIGMENTS IN BARLEY

In addition to the green color caused by chlorophyll, grain and vegetative organs of barley can be colored by compounds of phenolic nature, such as melanins and lavonoids, which include anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins. Due to the wide biological activity of these pigmented compounds and their uncolored precursors in respect to plants and humans, there has recently been an increased interest in studying genes that determine pigmentation in plants. The gene network determining the synthesis of lavonoid pigments is the most studied one. Since the 1970s, structural genes that encode the enzymes of lavonoid metabolism, as well as regulatory genes that determine the tissue-speciic accumulation of these pigments in grain tissues, as well as in vegetative organs have been identiied and localized in the barley genome. The Ant1 and Ant2 genes, determining the accumulation of anthocyanins in grain pericarp, the Ant28 gene controlling the biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) in seed coat, as well as the HvMpc2, HvMyc2 and HvWD40 genes responsible for the accumulation of anthocyanins in the aleurone layer of barley grain have been determined. Melanins are less studied pigments of plants. Due to the complex structure and resistance to various solvents, the chemical nature of these pigments has not been established. However, due to the comparative analysis of transcriptomes in the colored and uncolored lemma and grain pericarp of barley near-isogenic lines, it was possible to identify the metabolic pathways underlying the formation of the melanin pigmentation. The proposed article reviews the results of the studies on the genetic control of barley coloration