Abstract: The current 2022 year is the year of the anniversary of N.I. Vavilov (1887–1943) and the 95th anniversary of his Abyssinian (Ethiopian) expedition. On their eve, the second part of the first notebook of his “Abyssinian diary”, illustrated by photographs taken by him on the expedition is published with comments in this issue of Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. At the same time, the photos are not given arbitrarily, but only where there is a reference to them in the text of the “Diary”. The dividing into two parts was caused by the limitations of the volume of the journal issues. A part of the first notebook of “Abyssinian diary” and several pages of the third one were previously partially published in No. 10 of the journal Priroda (Moscow) in 1987 for the centenary of N.I. Vavilov. The introductory article gives a brief outline of the results of the Abyssinian expedition and describes the stages of the preparation of the Vavilov’s diary entry for publication.
Key words: cultivated plants; biodiversity; history of applied botany; N.I. Vavilov; Ethiopian expedition.
For citation: Vavilov N.I. Voyage en Afrique: Somalia. Abyssinia. Part 2. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;8(2):113-196. DOI 10.18699/LettersVJ-2022-8-07 (in Russian)

Abstract:The production of annual monocultures has a negative impact on the environment, including water pollution, soil erosion, reduced carbon storage, increased greenhouse gas emissions and the use of large amounts of fertilizers. Nitrogen losses from annual crops can be 30–50 times higher than from perennial crops. The development of perennial crops that can exist in the fields for several years is one of the approaches that can be used to improve food security and this direction is given considerable attention in the world. The breeding of perennial wheat is aimed at creating new highly productive varieties that combine important economically useful and biological features in one plant. Solving the problem of combining a complex of valuable economic and biological properties in one plant is of great importance. This is difficult to achieve due to the fact that when creating perennial wheat varieties, it is necessary to use wild perennial bluegrass grasses that have negative agronomic traits. The purpose of the study is to evaluate samples of the international collection of perennial wheat for further use in breeding. The object of our research was 25 samples of the international collection of perennial wheat obtained from СIMMYT. The studies were conducted in the period from 2017 to 2020. The field assessment made it possible to identify the most winter-hardy forms of Ot38, 235A; to establish a high resistance of the samples of the collection of perennial wheat to the defeat of major diseases; an assessment was carried out on 15 agronomical traits and an analysis of the main components was performed according to these parameters; the best samples of the collection by economically valuable traits of perennial wheat were 11955, TAF46, Ot38, 235A. Each of the selected lines has practical value for further breeding. The superiority of the samples of the collection of perennial wheat over the standard spring wheat variety in terms of protein and gluten content in the grain has been established. Two numbers 11955 and TAF46 with high grain size parameters were determined and the obtained results were highly correlated with the mass of 1000 grains.
Key words: perennial wheat; wild cereals; yield; valuable traits; correlation.
For citation: Aydarov A.N., Shepelev S.S., Shamanin V.P. Evaluation of the collection of perennial wheat in the southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia environments. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;8(2):197-205. DOI 10.18699/LettersVJ-2022-8-08 (in Russian)

Abstract: Currently, great importance is attached to the research of RNA in order to use it in the gene therapy of various diseases. Significant progress has been made in the chemical modification of mRNA, which increases its stability and reduces its ability to activate unwanted immune reactions. Progress in mRNA technology, along with the development of nanotechnology, has made it possible to study mRNA for its use in various fields of biomedicine. At the same time, many biological effects of RNA remain unexplored, but may be of significant interest not only from a practical point of view, but also from the point of view of understanding molecular processes. In this regard, the results of experimental studies initiated by Academician D.K. Belyaev and conducted more than 40 years ago deserve attention. These results indicate the ability of natural unmodified RNA without the use of transfection agents to increase the immunogenicity of tumor cells and change the resistance of mice to bone marrow transplants. Of significant interest are the data on the possibility of involving exogenous rat liver poly-(A)+mRNA in the process of reverse transcription in tumor cells. The purpose of this review article is to draw attention to the pioneering work carried out many years ago at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and try to discuss the mechanisms of action of RNA preparations used in these works, based on the results of modern research. In general, there is reason to believe that the study of natural RNAs using modern biotechnologies will reveal their new functional features and more effective ways to create drugs based on RNA.
Key words: mRNA; Krebs-2; mice of the high-cancer C3H/He line; spontaneous breast tumor; cytotoxic test; bone marrow transplantation.
For citation: NikolinV.P., Popova N.A. Biological effects of exogenous RNA. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;8(2):206-213. DOI 10.18699/LettersVJ-2022-8-09 (in Russian)

Abstract: The X-chromosome status is an important marker of mammalian cell embryonic differentiation. Both female X-chromosomes are transcriptionally active (Xa) at the blastocyst stage, then one of the X-chromosomes undergoes random inactivation (Xi). Naïve pluripotent stem cells have both Xa, while primed pluripotent stem cells and differentiated cells – XaXi. When pluripotent stem cells are generated from non-model species, it is important to analyze X-chromosome status, as well as pluripotency marker gene expression at the early stages, to minimize time and cost. Thus, the X-chromosome state may point to the pluripotency status of the newly derived pluripotent cells, and early analysis of pluripotency markers would facilitate the cell selection. We present two detailed protocols of X-chromosome inactivation analysis: a single-cell analysis based on cell lysis with subsequent reverse transcription PCR, and immunofluorescent H3K27me3 staining. The H3K27me3 staining marks transcriptionally inactive chromatin. The single-cell lysis for RNA isolation is performed in a small volume of PCR-compatible non-ionic detergents, Nonidet P-40 and Tween-20, with BSA. Subsequent cDNA synthesis is performed in the same tube. This method could be used for Xist amplification, as an early X-chromosome inactivation marker, as well as for other genes, such as Rex1, expressed in mammalian pluripotent cells. We have successfully applied those protocols for X-inactivation analysis in the American mink embryonic fibroblasts and three lines of induced pluripotent stem cells. Thus, the proposed protocols allow fast and inexpensive testing of pluripotency and X-inactivation markers on a single-cell level.
Key words: single cells; Neovison vison; American mink; Xist; Rex1; HK1; H3K27me3.
Acknowledgments: The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 20-04 00369, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, state project FWNR-2022-0019. Cell lines are available at the Collective Center of ICG SB RAS “Collection of Pluripotent Human and Mammalian Cell Cultures for Biological and Biomedical Research” (https://ckp.icgen.ru/cells/; http://www.biores.cytogen.ru/icg_sb_ras_cell/).
For citation: Pristyazhnyuk I.E., Meshcheryakov N.I., Menzorov A.G. Inexpensive protocol for single-cell X-chromosome inactivation analysis: Xist expression and H3K27me3 staining. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;8(2):214-222. DOI 10.18699/LettersVJ-2022-8-10

Abstract: For plant breeding, the mechanism of collection of royalties (breeding remuneration), which is possible only with certified seeds, is of paramount importance. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the protection of intellectual property for breeding achievements. Protection of patent holders’ rights will be more complete provided that the seller can sell seeds only those varieties for which royalties have already been paid. Collection of royalties for the coming years will be one of the central issues of interaction between breeding, seed production and commodity production of seeds.
Key words: royalties; breeders’ rights; protection of plant varieties; distinctness; uniformity; stability.
For citation: Berezkin A.N., Malko A.M., Islamov M.N., Zezin N.N., Androsova O.V. Royalty as one of the funding sources for the breeding. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Letters to Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;8(2):223-230. DOI 10.18699/LettersVJ-2022-8-11