Durum wheat is mainly used for products for human consumption, the quality of which depends on the content of protein and yellow pigments in the semolina. The challenges faced by modern breeding, related to population growth and climate change, imply improvement of both grain yields and quality in durum wheat germplasm well adapted to specific agro-climatic conditions. To address those challenges, a better understanding of the genetic architecture of agronomic and quality traits is needed. In the current study we used the Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) approach in a panel of Bulgarian and foreign genotypes to define loci controlling agronomic and quality traits in durum wheat. We mapped 26 marker traits associations (MTAs) for four of the six studied traits—grain yield, grain protein content, seed yellow colour (CIELAB b*), and plant height. The greatest number of MTAs was detected for grain yield. Seven MTAs were detected for each grain protein content and seed colour, and one MTA for plant height. Most of the reported associations had confidence intervals overlapping with already reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Two loci controlling grain yield were not reported previously. The MTAs reported here may be a valuable tool in future breeding for improvement of both grain yield and quality in durum wheat.

In this paper, we assess the environmental impact of urbanization in three freshwater biotopes, using the levels of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in 10 meristic morphological traits in the Marsh Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771)). Two of the studied biotopes are located in the boundaries of the city of Plovdiv (one in the central part, the other in a suburban residential area), and the third is located in the vicinity of the village of Orizare. Our working hypothesis is based on the assumption that urban and suburban sites are more severely affected by human activities than rural sites. However, according to our results, the population of P. ridibundus inhabiting Maritsa River in the central part of Plovdiv City, and that in the suburban zone, have found relatively good living conditions. Contrary to our expectations, the worst environmental conditions were observed in the rural zone, where anthropogenic stress related to intensive pastoral animal husbandry and crop farming was present. The absence of adult individuals in the rural site is also an indicator of unfavorable living conditions.

Unlocking the potential for adaptability across different conditions or environments of under-characterized local bread wheat from Serbia and Bulgaria remains critical for resilient breeding. This study aimed to assess the diversity and potential for adaptability of 76 accessions (35 from Serbia and 41 from Bulgaria) by integrating molecular and agro-morphological approaches. Plant height ranged from 101.1 cm in Bulgarian cultivars to 130.1 cm in Serbian landraces, while the flowering time varied from 134.9 days in Bulgarian cultivars to 139.7 days in Serbian landraces. SSR markers detected 446 alleles (mean 9.49 per locus; PIC = 0.646), with Serbian landraces exhibiting the highest allelic richness (7.23 alleles per locus) and 106 private alleles. Bayesian clustering and UPGMA analyses revealed clear genetic differentiation between Serbian and Bulgarian accessions, with Serbian landraces showing higher admixture and substructure. Principal coordinate analysis confirmed these patterns and highlighted the intermediate positions of pre-Green Revolution Serbian cultivars. The local wheat germplasm harbors high genetic diversity and potential for adaptability, particularly for traits critical to environmental resilience. These findings underline the value of local wheat germplasm as a resource for developing sustainable breeding and conservation strategies.

Bacteriophages and their potential contribution to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have attracted growing attention in the context of medicine and pharmaceutics. A major objective of the CAMDA challenge is to acquire more knowledge about the relationship between viruses, their hosts and AMR genes in determining if AMR indeed can spread through phages. This study is focused on exploring the relationship and possible dependencies between bacteriophages and AMR based on the data collected from urban environments all over the world. The samples in the data are classified into two categories: high and low, according to the observed levels of AMR genes. The approach used in our analyses consists of several different methods which assess the differential abundance of phages, their diversity across samples, the impact on AMR categories and associations with AMR genes. The relationship between phages, their hosts and AMR is also explored by a Bayesian spatial model, using the AMR category (low vs high) as a factor. We found a higher relative risk for phages known to infect Staphylococcus aureus alone or both S. aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii in the high AMR group, which implies that these phages may have a role in the dissemination of antimicrobial genes.