Functional nutrition is a valuable supplementation to dietary therapy. Functional foods are enriched with biologically active substances. Plant polyphenols attract particular attention due to multiple beneficial properties attributed to their high antioxidant and other biological activities. We assessed the effect of grape polyphenols on the life span of C57BL/6 mice and on behavioral and neuroinflammatory alterations in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson disease (PD) with overexpression of the A53T-mutant human α-synuclein. C57BL/6 mice were given a dietary supplement containing grape polyphenol concentrate (GPC—1.5 mL/kg/day) with drinking water from the age of 6–8 weeks for life. Transgenic PD mice received GPC beginning at the age of 10 weeks for four months. GPC significantly influenced the cumulative proportion of surviving and substantially augmented the average life span in mice. In the transgenic PD model, the grape polyphenol (GP) diet enhanced memory reconsolidation and diminished memory extinction in a passive avoidance test. Behavioral effects of GP treatment were accompanied by a decrease in α-synuclein accumulation in the frontal cortex and a reduction in the expression of neuroinflammatory markers (IBA1 and CD54) in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Thus, a GP-rich diet is recommended as promising functional nutrition for aging people and patients with neurodegenerative disorders.

Grapevine is one of the world’s most economically important fruit crops. It is known that Vitis vinifera is a host for a large number of pathogenic agents, which significantly reduce the yield and berry quality. This forces the agronomists to use a huge amount of fungicides. Over the last few decades, alternative methods for solving this problem have been developed and continue to be developed. Such new technologies as marker-assisted selection, bioengineering of the rhizosphere, genetic engineering (transgenesis, cisgenesis and intragenesis) allow the production of pathogen-resistant cultivars. However, they are linked to a number of problems. One of the most promising methods is the creation of modified non-transgenic cultivars via CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis. Therefore, researchers are actively looking for target genes associated with pathogen resistance and susceptibility. This review elucidates the main mechanisms of plant—pathogen interactions, the immune systems developed by plants, as well as the identified genes for resistance and susceptibility to the biotrophic pathogen Erysiphe necator and the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea.

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) bears dietary fruits that are rich in bioactive compounds. However, information on the metabolome profiles of honeysuckle varieties grown in Russia is limited. In this study, we employed tandem mass spectrometry to study the metabolome profiles of four L. caerulea varieties (Volhova, Tomichka, Goluboe vereteno, and Amfora) grown in two geographical locations in Russia, i.e., the Russian Far East and St. Petersburg. We observed that the metabolome profiles of the four varieties grown in two locations differ significantly, particularly in the polyphenol’s other compound classes. We were able to identify 122 bioactive compounds in extracts from honeysuckle berries, 75 compounds from the polyphenol group and 47 compounds from other chemical groups. Thirty chemical constituents from the polyphenol group (flavones jaceosidin, cirsiliol, sophoraisoflavone A, chrysoeriol-O-hexoside, flavonols dimethylquercetin-3-O-dehexoside, rhamnocitrin, rhamnetin II, stilbenes pinosylvin, resveratrol, dihydroresveratrol, etc.) and twenty-seven from other chemical groups were identified. The largest number of unique polyphenols is characteristic of the variety Tomichka, the selection of the regional state unitary enterprise “Bakcharskoye”, from the free pollination of L. caerulea, originating in the Primorsky Territory of Russia (L. caerulea subspecies Turczaninow). This genotype has the highest number of similar unique polyphenols, regardless of where it was grown. Blue honeysuckle genotypes originating from Primorsky Krai in Russia can be used in various breeding programs in order to improve and enrich the biochemical composition of fruits. It should also be noted that, regardless of the place of cultivation, the total amount of unique polyphenols remains quite large. Attention should be paid to the Volhova honeysuckle variety, obtained through gamma irradiation of the Pavlovskaya variety (Kamchatka ecotype). This sample is characterized by a stable composition of biologically active substances, regardless of the growing area. These data could support future research on the production of a variety of pharmaceutical products containing ultrapure extracts of L. caerulea.

Fruit and berry crops, as well as grapes, are important parts of the human diet and, at the same time, significant objects of genetic, breeding, biochemical and nutritional research. Traditional approaches of crop research and improvement are now complemented by effective modern genetic technologies. In this review, we analyze and summarize the achievements in genome editing of fruit, berry crops and grapes. New approaches accelerate the improvement of genotypes for many groups of traits: plant resistance to unfavorable environmental factors, flowering and ripening time, plant architectonics, fruit shelf time and biochemical composition. Genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been successfully tested on the most important vegetatively propagated fruit and berry crops (apple, pear, orange, kumquat, grapefruit, banana, strawberry and kiwi) and grapes. About 30 genes of these crops have been used as targets for the introduction of desired mutations using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The most valuable results are the improvement of important agronomic traits. For 24 genes it has been shown that their knockout can result in the improvement of varieties. In addition, the review pays attention to the comparative analysis of the explant types of vegetatively propagated crops used for the delivery of editing genetic constructs, as well as the comparison of the editing efficiency depending on the variation of the objects used, delivery methods, etc. The article discusses the existing limitations that need to be overcome for a wider application of genomic editing in order to improve varieties of fruit and berry crops, as well as grapes.

The breeding of ornamental plants as a branch of crop production is an integral part of the set of measures aimed at obtaining a wide range of different plants with high decorative characteristics. The main objective of this branch is the creation of plants that are attractive to the consumer and commercially characterized by such valuable biological features as adaptability, resistance to diseases, pests, frost and others. Most ornamental plant varieties were bred by means of traditional breeding methods such as selection, distant hybridization, clone breeding, radiation and chemically induced mutagenesis. However, the use of traditional breeding tools is limited by the potential for intraspecific variability. The development of modern biotechnological and genetic approaches to the breeding of new varieties has made it possible to modify the plant genotype at a qualitatively new level. The present review covers the directions in and methodology of modern ornamental plant breeding in Russia, ways of mobilizing the genetic resources of the main ornamental crops such as rose, clematis, canna, chrysanthemum, pelargonia, iris, daylily, tulip, lilac, and rhododendron. Aslo, the review offers examples of ornamental plant breeding work uderway in the leading specialized scientific institutions such as the Russian State Agrarian University – the K.A. Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy, I.V. Michurin Federal Research Centre, Nikitsky Botanical Gardens – National Scientific Center of the RAS, Subtropical Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden of the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Tobacco, Mahorka and Tobacco Products. The world and Russian flower and ornamental plants markets, the problem and methods of resolving the issue of quality import substitution, and prospects for the development of floriculture in Russia in the foreseeable future are also briefly considered.

Метаболомные профили Ribes nigrum L. и Lonicera caerulea L. из коллекции ВИР им. Н.И. Вавилова в условиях Северо-Запада РФ