Comparative Rheological Properties of Soy Lecithins Produced in Russia

The work is devoted to a comparative study of the features of the structural and mechanical properties of soybean lecithins, produced in Russia, in their relationship with the composition and other characteristics. Considering that the cultivation of transgenic agricultural crops is prohibited in Russia, Russian plant raw materials and products of its processing, including lecithin, are of interest and are in demand in a number of European countries. Despite the fact that the main raspberry raw material in Russia is sunflower, the volume of processing of soybeans grown without the use of genetic modification methods, the main plantations of which are located in the Far East, ranks second after sunflower. Lecithin production technologies in Russia are mostly focused on the production of so-called "raw" liquid lecithins and do not provide for the operation of their subsequent conditioning in order to ensure special characteristics of the composition and consumer properties. Despite this, raw soy lecithins produced by Russian enterprises mostly meet the requirements of GOST 32052-2013 and the European Union E 322 requirements and can be positioned as standard liquid lecithins. At the same time, during the release of such lecithins, problems associated with an increase in their viscosity during storage are periodically observed. This article presents the results of comparative studies of the composition and properties of liquid soybean lecithins of various consistencies and presents conclusions on the factors that determine the features of their structural and mechanical properties.

Phylogenetic analysis and designing new primers for molecular identification of Drosophila suzukii

The family Drosophilidae includes over 3750 species worldwide and over 2000 of these are species of Drosophila. Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii is one of the most dangerous species in this family. The insects live on undamaged ripening fruits, using its peculiar serrated ovipositor to break the skin of fresh ripening fruits and lay eggs in it. Drosophila species are very difficult and practically impossible to detect at larval stages. The present investigation was conducted at the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center and Agrarian and Technological Institute of RUDN University, Moscow, Russia in 20182020. The aim of this study was to investigate the method of accurate and rapid identification of D. suzukii, and to design specific primer pairs for pest identification by Real-Time PCR method. The real-time quantitative PCR is a fast, sensitive, repeatable and accurate method for quantifying gene transcript levels. In this study, we designed specific primers (4.Dsuz.FRP) for Real-Time PCR to identify D. suzukii from other relative species. Although D. suzukii is absent in the Russian Federation and has not been reported so far, the project could be a precautionary measure.

Identification of barley accessions from the VIR collection carrying the mlo11(cnv2) powdery mildew resistance allele

Background. The search for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes that carry effective genes for resistance to powdery mildew agent Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei is a present-day issue for Russian plant breeding. The mlo11 allele that confers long-term protection of barley against the pathogen is rarely found among the varieties, approved for cultivation in the territory of Russia. There is no information on the occurrence among Russian varieties of another effective allele, mlo11 (cnv2), therefore, the search for its source is a current necessity. Materials and methods. Seven barley accessions from Ethiopia and 7 accessions from Japan have been tested for resistance to the northwestern population of the powdery mildew agent in the field and in laboratory conditions. To identify of the Mlo gene alleles, nucleotide sequences of the Stowaway-MITE (Miniature Inverted-repeat Transposable Elements) and the adjacent promoter fragments were determined. Results. Phytopathological tests in the field and greenhouse conditions, as well as molecular markers were used to study 14 barley accessions from Ethiopia and Japan. According to the preliminary tests, plants were resistant to powdery mildew. The highly effective allele of powdery mildew resistance mlo11 (cnv2) was for the first time identified in four barley accessions from Ethiopia, k-20087, k-20523, k-20524 and k-28126. Under field conditions, adult plants were resistant, and in the greenhouse they were moderately damaged by powdery mildew (1-2 points). The disease symptoms were similar to those described for the sample Eth295, a carrier of the mlo11(cnv2) allele variant: single pustules and the absence of necrotic spots on the leaves. The fragments of Stowaway-MITE and adjacent Mlo 5' promoter sequences were amplified in all 14 accessions. The amplicons were cloned and sequenced. The unique marker SNPs within the MITE and Mlo 5’ promoter sequences, i.e. the substitutions of cytosine by thymine in positions 262 and 452, were found only in k-20087, k-20523, k-20524 and k-28126. These accessions belong to different botanical varieties and differ from each other in a number of morphological features, i.e. they are not duplicates. Conclusions. The genotypes selected as a result of the study can serve as a source of the mlo11(cnv2) allele in breeding powdery mildew-resistant barley varieties.

The PhytoLex plant name database: results and perspectives

Russian plant names are a semantic group poorly represented in historical dictionaries. During the project “Russian phytonyms in diachronic aspect (11th–17th c.)” (2017–2020), the PhytoLex database was created, which contains plant names recorded in Russian texts of the 11th–17th centuries. The population of the database was accompanied by research work devoted to various issues relating to the representation of plant names in the Russian language in general, and in particular in relation to some specific genres: herbals, documents of the Apothecary Chancery, business documents, church literature and lexicons. Some earlier unknown plant names were identified. These database materials will be the basis for the dictionary of Old Russian plant names, draft word entries for which have been compiled. Technical solutions will be used during the creation of a further database representing plant names recorded in later periods of the Russian language.

Distribution of Acer negundo L. in Altai Krai (Russia, Southern Siberia) and its coenotic role in pine forests

The article provides data on the distribution of the invasive boxelder maple in the Altai Krai.  The article specifically considers its coenotic role in pine forests by the example of the Barnaul ribbon pine forest. A GIS project was developed to assess the distribution of boxelder maple in Altai krai. Mapping was based on the species location data obtained from the herbarium material (more than 500 sheets of the herbarium) deposited to the Altai State University (ALTB), the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Plant Research Institute (WIR) and the V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE). To map the boxelder maple distribution, an analysis of the forest stand maps of the Barnaul ribbon pine forest was also carried out (2010, 2018). For each maple location, the stratum, the stratum area, and the stand formula are taken into account. Over the ten-year observation period, the area of maple and mixed forests with the participation of Acer negundo has increased almost 6 times here. Monodominant maple forests and mixed forests with the participation of boxelder maple as well as with other invasive species are formed. This leads to a considerable anthropogenic transformation of pine forests and a decrease in their environment-forming, social-economic and ecological significance. The study reveals that generative plants were not found in every coenopopulation. If the plants reached the reproductive stage, then, on the whole, males prevailed fivefold in the coenopopulation. Most of the studied coenopopulations consisted of pre-generative individuals, with the exception of occasional young generative ones. Most of the trees in the studied populations reached the age of 10–15 years. For forest communities of the Barnaul forestry, two age periods of the ontogenetic state have been established – pre-generative and generative, which indicates a relatively early age of the phytoinvasion and its active stage.

Dictionary of Old Russian Plant Names (11th-17th сс.): Its Sources and Principles of Lexicographic Representation

Dictionary of Old Russian Plant Names (11th-17th сс.) is a logical continuation of the Phytolex database, which contains the names of plants recorded in the Russian literature of the 11th-17h centuries. The paper is discussing the key points concerning the representation of phytonyms in the dictionary.

Testing of different methods for identification of bacterial leaf spot (Siringae pv. maculicola (Mcculloch) Young et al.) plant pathogen in cauliflower leaves

Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (McCulloch) Young et al. is a pathogen of cauliflower bacterial spot that affects many plants of the Cruciferae family. The need for quality diagnostics of this species arose due to the mandatory phytosanitary inspection of places of production of plant products intended for export. Our research aims at determining a set of methods for the diagnosis of the pathogen of cauliflower bacterial leaf spot and evaluating these methods’ applicability in laboratory practice. The object of the research is P. syringae pv. maculicola – the causative agent of cauliflower bacterial leaf spot.The article presents the test results of two methods for the identification of Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (McCulloch) Young et al. carried out in 2020 at the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center (VNIIKR). The first method is based on the determination of biochemical properties using the API 20E test kit produced by bioMérieux’s (France); the second one – is a conventional PCR. The type bacterial strain CFBP 1657 obtained by specialists of the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center (VNIIKR) from French collection of plant-associated bacteria (Cirm-CFBP) was used in the studies. A comparison of the biochemical properties of 23 bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas showed that there are only two characteristics within this test that distinguish P. s. pv. maculicola from other species pathovars: acetoin products and gelatin hydrolysis. Two pairs of primers with different targets in the P. syringae genome were also tested. PCR with PsyF/PsyR primers demonstrated the highest similarity of the obtained fragments with the NCBI database (97.2 %). The analytical sensitivity of PCR with PsyF/PsyR primers in plant and seed extracts was 105 CFU/ml. Determination of analytical specificity with 33 bacterial strains of the genus Pseudomonas revealed cross-reactions with strains of the following species: P. congelans, P. savastanoi pv. phaseolicola, P. savastanoi pv. glycinea, P. syringae pv. coronafaciens, P. syringae pv. syringae. Thus, to differentiate the species by means of PCR with PsyF/PsyR primers, the nucleotide sequence of the obtained amplification products should be additionally determined by Sanger sequencing.

Quarantine and particularly dangerous bacteria, phytoplasmas and viruses that pose a risk to the viticulture in Russian Federation

The Russian Federation imports large quantities of planting and grafting material of grapes, including from countries where dangerous harmful organisms are spread to vineyards. Plant protection specialists in this industry, as well as grape producers, must understand the possible risk associated with the danger of the entry of quarantine disease pathogens into the Russian Federation and the potential damage if infected plant material is imported. Studies have been carried out by the staff of All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center to assess the phytosanitary risk of pests associated with the import of seedlings, stocks and grape cuttings. Based on these studies, the list of pests for the vine that have quarantine status and potentially quarantine status for the Russian Federation, in particular bacterioses, phytoplasmas and viral diseases has been established. This article describes the main diseases that affect grapes and are included in the Unified List of Quarantine Pests of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as potentially dangerous viral diseases that are not currently included, but planned for inclusion in the Unified List, which pose a serious threat if they penetrate to the territory of the Russian Federation. From quarantine pathogens, grapes are affected by grape bacteriosis (Pierce disease of grapevine) (Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al.), bacterial blight of grapevine (Xylophilus ampelinus (Panagopoulos) Willems et al.), Flavescence dorée of grapevine (Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis), from the planned inclusion grapes are affected by red spotting of grape leaves (Grapevine red blotch-associated virus), marbling of grape leaves (Grapevine vein clearing virus) and discoloration of the leaves of Roditis grape (Grapevine Roditis leaf discoloration-associated virus). The article considers the biological peculiarities of pathogens, ways of their possible penetration and spread on the territory of the cultivation of grape in the Russian Federation, host plants of quarantine and dangerous pests, the main symptoms of diseases on plants, possible vectors, damage caused by quarantine pests in the countries of spreading, diagnostic methods, as well as areas of possible harmfulness for the Russian Federation.

ANTHROPOGENIC AND ECONOMIC FACTORS OF THE СRIMEAN ECOLOGY

The situation in the ecology of the Crimean Peninsula in recent years was discussed in the article. The analysis of absolute and integrated indicators of the anthropogenic impact showed that the ecological situation remains difficult, and according to some indicators even continues to deteriorate. In summer 2018, the situation had worsened because of the large chemical release of titanium dioxide on the north of the Crimea from the holding pond of a large Russian plant that is situated near the town of Armyansk. This, in turn, led to the contamination of the large territory on the north of the peninsula. This fact indicates insufficient control by officials of the Republic of Crimea over the implementation of the RF laws for environmental protection by business owners of various forms of ownership, especially private ownership, the level of responsibility for the environment of which is very low.