C. sativa is a valuable oilseed; it has a wide nutritional and technical use. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive study of C. sativa collection accessions in various ecological and geographical conditions to determine the environmental stability parameters. C. sativa All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) collection accessions served as a material source for the study. The study was conducted in four different ecological and geographical regions of the Russian Federation. In the factor structure of the environmental parameters variability two factors are identified covering 94.8% of the variability. The first factor is associated with the precipitation sum (PS) and the temperatures sum (TS) for the vegetation period (68.7%), the second factor is associated with the average daily temperature (TM) for the same period (26.1%). Analysis of the system of correlations between the parameters of stability and plasticity and the value of regression coefficients for meteorological indicators showed that for all the studied features, indicator b closely correlates with regression coefficients for the temperatures sum (TS) and average daily temperature (TM) for the vegetation period. Indicator S_d—with coefficients for the precipitation sum (PS) and average daily precipitation (PM). The result of the study made it possible to identify collection accessions of C. sativa with a high stable adaptability to the contrasting climatic conditions of the studied regions.

Cucurbita crops are among the most valuable and widely cultivated vegetable crops in global agriculture. Cucurbit seed oil meets the requirements of functional nutrition; it is material for the food industry and medicines based on natural ingredients. The present research was aimed at studying features of the biochemical composition of oil in seeds of the main cultivated Cucurbita L. species from the collection of the N.I. Vavilov Institute (VIR) grown in the conditions of the Astrakhan Experiment Station (AES) of VIR. The oil content in seeds of Cucurbita L. species varied from 40 to 49.7%. Over 80% of the fatty acids (FA) composition (FAC) was represented by oleic (13.6–49.6) and linoleic (33.5–69.3%) acids. The accessions of Cucurbita mixta Pang. were noted for high values of saturated FAs (palmitic and stearic), those of Cucurbita pepo var. melopepo (L.) Harz. of linoleic and linolenic, and those of Cucurbita pepo L. of oleic acid. The multiple factor analysis showed significant differences in FAC in accessions of C. pepo var. melopepo, Cucurbita maxima Duch. and C. pepo. The performed study allowed us to reveal FAC features in seeds of each Cucurbita species from the VIR collection and to identify the accessions with the best economically important indicators.

Oat is one of the most widespread and important cereal crops in the global agricultural production. Searching for new high-yielding and nutritious forms continues to be relevant, especially under the global trend of climate change, when most local oat cultivars may become economically inefficient. Spring oat accessions from VIR collection served as the material for this study; their origin is diverse, as they came from 11 countries. The basic nutritional value (the content of protein, oil, starch, and β-glucans) and characters important for breeding (plant height, panicle length, number of spikelets, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight, and grain yield) were analyzed in 49 accessions of the cultivated covered oat species: Avena sativa L., A. strigosa Schreb., A. abyssinica Hochst., and A. byzantina Coch., grown under the conditions of the Russian Northwest (Leningrad Province) for two years. Variability parameters, interspecific and intervarietal differences, and the effect of weather conditions were assessed. Sources of useful agronomic traits were identified; they can be used to expand the range of the source material for the development of new high-yielding and highly nutritious oat cultivars adapted to local cultivation conditions. It is demonstrated that the VIR collection has a great potential for contemporary food and feed production and for the breeding of new oat cultivars for various purposes. Thus, the contribution of Nikolai Vavilov to the plant genetic resources investigation for the benefit of humanity is invaluable.

Metabolomic profiling data obtained through gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry are presented. Thirty oat accessions from the collection of the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic resources (VIR) served as the material for the research. Those accessions of Russian and French origin showed different degrees of breeding refinement: from local landraces (the early 1920s) and primitive cultigens (1920–1930s) to modern improved cultivars. Twenty-seven hulled and three naked oat varieties were selected for the study.The main objective of the work was to identify differences among common oat varieties with different degrees of breeding refinement at the level of metabolomic profiles. The resulting data reflected the metabolic state of oat genotypes with different ecogeographic backgrounds. They were compared to assess the content of main metabolite groups important for the formation of the crop’s stress resistance traits as well as nutritional, medicinal and dietary properties of oat grain products. The most informative indicators were identified (fucosterol, chiro-inositol, xylitol; undecylic, threonic, glutamic, ribonic and phosphoric acids; sorbose, fructose, glucose-3-phosphate, and myo-inositol), which helped to make statistically significant differentiation among oat accessions of different origin with various degrees of breeding refinement. Comparing metabolomic profiles of different oat variety groups (landraces, primitive cultigens, and modern cultivars, developed by Russian and French breeders) mirrored distinctive features of the trends followed by different plant breeding schools.This study showed that breeding efforts to improve biochemical indicators in oat grain would require the use of the genetic diversity found in landraces and primitive cultigens collected or developed in the 1920–1930s. This diversity is still preserved and maintained in the global germplasm collection at VIR.

Narrow-leaved lupine (Lupinus аngustifolius L.) is a widely cultivated leguminous forage and green manure crop with a potential for human nutrition. However, the presence of secondary metabolites – alkaloids – in lupine seeds considerably affects the quality of raw produce, reducing its nutritive value; in addition, high concentrations of alkaloids are toxic to humans and animals. Therefore, plant breeders working with lupine need to gain knowledge about the variability of alkaloid content in seeds of different genotypes and search for the sources of their low concentrations in the crop’s gene pool. The collection of narrow-leaved lupine genetic resources held by the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) offers wide opportunities for such search by means of mass screening. For its part, largescale gene pool screening requires the selection of an optimal technique to measure alkaloid content in seeds, so that it would be easily reproducible and as little labor-, time- and fund-consuming as possible. The results of the search for such method are presented. Qualitative and quantitative indices were compared when target compounds had been extracted with multicomponent mixtures and individual reagents (chloroform, methanol, etc.) and the extracts analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. High-performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry was also employed. Five major alkaloids were found to be present in all types of extracts: lupanine, 13-hydroxylupanine (dominant ones), angustifoline, sparteine, and isolupanine. The fullest extraction of alkaloids was observed when the extractant with an added alkaline agent was used (425 mg/100 g). The lowest level of extraction was registered with chloroform (216 mg/100 g). The significance of the differences was confirmed statistically.

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