Abstract. The variety of flower forms in nature is vast, but their structure is remarkably consistent. Arabidopsis thaliana was the basis for the ABC model of flower genetic regulation, in which each whorl of its organs acquires its identity through a unique combination of gene activity. Within the ABC model, the APETALA1 (AP1) gene belongs to the class A genes that regulate the formation of petals and sepals. Later, this model was supplemented by genes D and E, in which the formation of the perianth is due to the interaction of genes A and E or A, B and E. But there has been some evidence contradicting that AP1 determines petal identity in Angiospermae. To clarify the function of the AP1 gene in the presented study, biometric and morphological analysis of apetala 1-1 (ap1-1) mutants was carried out. As a result, the pleiotropic effect of ap1-1 has been described in detail. It included shortening the flowering time and transforming the structure of inflorescences and flowers. Among the set of effects of this mutation, the key one is the shift in the bract’s development to later stages of morphogenesis, which initiates a series of allometric shifts within the unified transformation series (inflorescence). This is the reason for the displacement of the flower borders within the inflorescences, causing the loss of the perianth and changes in the inflorescence structure. Thus, the AP1 gene has a broader effect than the influence of class A genes. It is possible that the function of AP1 is not the initiation of petal development, but the regulation of the timing of the development of inflorescence elements.
Key words: Arabidopsis thaliana; APETALA 1-1 gene; heterochronic; bractea; petals
For citation: Kharchenko V.E. Clarification of the role of APETALA1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Henh. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Lett Vavilov J Genet Breed. 2025;11(3):101-110. doi 10.18699/letvjgb-2025-11-15 (in Russian)

Abstract. Breeding, as the main factor in the intensification of agricultural production, plays a special role in the creation and preservation of new useful plant genotypes. In this regard, the main goal of our research was to use traditional breeding methods in Tajikistan to synthesize new intensive varieties such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsitum L.), which are currently widely cultivated in the lands of farms in Tajikistan. Elite seed material from these crops was used as the starting material for the production of these varieties. Breeding work on breeding new varieties of crops was carried out during 2010–2024 at the Institute of Botany, Physiology and Plant Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (Dushanbe, 840 m above sea level), and with cotton culture at the Institute of Agriculture of the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Sharora village, Gissar Valley, 650 m above sea level). The objectives of the study included the study of the source material, hybridization and selection of useful genotypes among the population of hybrids and initial forms. New varieties of agricultural crops, which were obtained by Tajik breeders, are more resistant to various agro-ecological growing conditions.
Key words: breeding; variety; productivity; early maturity; sustainability; efficiency; climate change; Tajikistan
For citation: Partoev K., Saidzoda S.T., Sattorov B.N., Suyarzoda S.J., Mirzoali S. The characteristics of new commercial cultivars of Tajikistan. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Lett Vavilov J Genet Breed. 2025;11(3):111-117. doi 10.18699/letvjgb-2025-11-16 (in Russian)

Abstract. Sergey Grigorievich Veprev was a Candidate of Biological Sciences and Deputy Director of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS from 2004 to 2018. As part of the study of the population genetic basis of sugar beet productivity, the laboratory investigated the impact of heterosis in triploid sugar beet hybrids developed at the Institute. In his works and those of his co-authors, who are molecular geneticists, S.G. Veprev studied cytoplasmic male sterility in sugar beet, an important trait that ensures the production of unidirectional interlinear hybrids. They discovered and studied the instability of the sterility trait and the mitochondrial genome. Considering the biology of water hyacinth (Eichhornia), it was possible to develop technology for its seed and microclonal propagation, as well as create regulations for organising bioponds for wastewater treatment in Siberian climatic conditions. In the 2010s, S. G. Veprev began working on developing and supporting the study of fur colour polymorphism in Altai sable populations. He spent two decades doing administrative work at the Institute. In 2002, he served as head of the artificial plant cultivation laboratory (greenhouse complex). From 2004 to 2013, he was Deputy Director for Research, and from 2013 to 2018, he was Deputy Director for General Issues at the ICG SB RAS. In 2009, he was appointed Head of the Department of Experimental Plant Gene Pools and, until 2010, Head of the Laboratory of Applied Plant Agrobiotechnology. Since 2018. he has been the Head of the Scientific and Educational Department of the FRC ICG SIB RAS. S.G. Veprev returned to the department as a lecturer, teaching an authoritative special course on population genetics of plants for fourth-year students. S.G. Veprev is the author of patents and certificates, and is a member of the authorial teams that who created the first two interspecific hybrids of sugar beet in the USSR (Siberian-1 and the joint Soviet-German Denok-Mon-1).
Key words: genetics; breeding; Zea mays; Beta vulgaris; water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes); Miscanthus sinensis; Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi Mushroom); Martes zibellina; population genetics; interline hybrids; mitochondrial DNA; S.G. Veprev
For citation: Zakharov I.K., Levites E.V., Trapezov O.V., Weisman N.Ya. We don’t choose time to live and die … Biologist Sergey Grigorievich Veprev. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Lett Vavilov J Genet Breed. 2025;11(3):118-131. doi 10.18699/letvjgb-2025-11-17 (in Russian)

Abstract. Vladimir N. Stegniy’s scientific and pedagogical work is associated with Tomsk State University. His research focused on malaria mosquitoes of the Anopheles maculipennis group in the Palearctic region. He construct a chromosomal evolution scheme for these species. A significant part of his studies focuses on chromosomal polymorphism within Anopheles messeae s.l. (considered as a single species). The patterns of chromosome attachment sites to the nuclear membrane in ovarian nurse cells revealed in the Anopheles and Drosophila genera led appearing the concept of systemic mutations (a variation of the saltational speciation idea). The results of V.N. Stegniy’s scientific work can be viewed ambivalently, either as a foundation for future research or as an object of reasoned criticism. It should be noted that the scientific school he established plays a central role in Russian research on the genetics and cytogenetics of blood-sucking mosquitoes.
Key words: cytogenetics; chromosomes; systemic mutations; Anopheles species; adaptation; Tomsk State University; V.N. Stegnii
For citation: Zakharov I.K., Vaulin O.V. Speciation, cytogenetics and system mutations in the studies of V.N. Stegnii. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Lett Vavilov J Genet Breed. 2025;11(2):132-137. doi 10.18699/letvjgb-2025-11-18 (in Russian)
Funding. The work was carried out under the budget project of the ICG SB RAS No. FWNR-2022-0015.

Abstract. A comment is given on the article of Zakharov I.K., Vaulin O.V. «Speciation, cytogenetics and systemic mutations in the research of V.N. Stegnii», devoted to the research practice and evolution hypothesis of the prof. Stegnii.
Key words: V.N. Stegnii; evolution; systemic mutations; Anopheles species; adaptation
For citation: Trapezov O.V. Reply to: I.K. Zakharov, Vaulin O.V. Speciation, Cytogenetics and system mutations in the studies of V.N. Stegnii. Pisma v Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii = Lett Vavilov J Genet Breed. 2025;11(3):138-139. doi 10.18699/letvjgb-2025-11-19 (in Russian)
Funding. This work was supported by the budgetary project No. FWNR-2022-0023.