Endophytic contaminants are a common problem for the in vitro propagation of woody plants and have significant economic repercussions for the conservation of plant genetic resources and commercial micropropagation. In this study, first, the microbial contamination that appeared around the base of in vitro-grown apple shoots was identified as Bacillus megaterium. Then, plant preservative mixture (PPM^TM) was used as a bactericidal agent in plant tissue culture. Its efficacy for eradicating endophytic B. megaterium in in vitro cultures of apple was tested. In vitro-contaminated shoots were grown in tissue culture medium supplemented with 0.2% v/v PPM^TM for 12 weeks and then transferred to medium without any PPM^TM and cultured for 24 weeks. This study showed that PPM^TM is an effective agent for controlling the growth of B. megaterium. Our results highlight the species-specific response of apple shoots to PPM^TM. PPM^TM was effective in controlling endogenous microbial contaminations from apple varieties ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Landsberger Renette’, ‘Suislepper’, and ‘Aport krovavo-krasnyi’; meanwhile, in ‘KG 7’ and ‘Gold Rush’, all the plants grown in the absence of PPM^TM were still bacterially contaminated, even though they were pre-treated for 12 weeks in PPM^TM-supplemented medium. These results therefore suggest the essentiality of further testing of extended incubation of PPM^TM in these cultivars that had outbreaks of bacterial contamination.

This paper focuses on the creation of an in vitro collection of grapevine hybrids from the breeding program of the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Fruit Growing and Viticulture and investigates the presence of Plasmopara viticola resistance mediated by Rpv3 and Rpv12 loci. We looked at the optimization of in vitro establishment using either shoots taken directly from field-grown plants or from budwood cuttings forced indoors. We further screened for the presence of endophyte contamination in the initiated explants and optimized the multiplication stage. Finally, the presence of the resistance loci against P. viticola was studied. The shoots initiated from the field-sourced explants were the more effective method of providing plant sources for in vitro initiation once all plant accessions met the goal of in vitro establishment. The concentration of phytohormones and the acidity of the culture medium have a great effect on the multiplication rate and the quality of in vitro stock cultures. Out of 17 grapevine accessions, 16 showed the presence of single or combined resistance loci against P. viticola. The grapevine accessions identified as carrying Rpv3 and Rpv12 alleles represent important genetic resources for disease resistance breeding programs. These accessions may further contribute to the creation of new elite cultivars of economic interest.

Several methods of plant preservation are currently used in the Republic of Kazakhstan: 1) field gene banks in natural growing areas and pomological collections; 2) preservation of seeds at +4°С, –18°С, and –196°С; 3) сold storage of in vitro shoots at +4°С and +10 ± 2°С; 4) cryopreservation of plant tissues and organs at –196°C; 5) preservation of plant DNA at –80°C.Ex situ field collections of plants in Kazakhstan are maintained in botanical gardens of the Republic, arboretums, pomological gardens, nurseries, peasant and farm enterprises, and personal plots. The largest collection of fruit and berry plants is located in the Pomological Garden and includes about 4 thousand varieties, more than 40 thousand hybrids and wild forms of various crops.The Republic of Kazakhstan has about 42,000 accessions in the seed collection. The cereal crop collection is mainly concentrated in the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing – 1/3 of the national genetic resources. The main seed collection of vegetable crops and potatoes (14,700 accessions) is held by the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Growing. Collections are also available at the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction and in the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology (IPBB), with the storage mode of + 4°C and –18°C. IPBB also uses cryopreservation technology at –196°C for seed storage.The main in vitro collection of Kazakhstan is kept at the IPBB at + 4°С and +10 ± 2°С; it includes more than 140 accessions of various fruit, berry, nut, vegetable, ornamental, and woody crops, grapes, potatoes, etc. A cryogenic collection of seeds, shoot tips, dormant buds, and embryonic axes in liquid nitrogen (–196°C) is found only in IPBB. The collection includes more than 700 accessions.

The loss of plant species, especially endangered and endemic ones, poses a significant threat to global biodiversity. These species cannot easily be replaced when their populations decline or become extinct, which makes their loss particularly devastating. This study focuses on the geobotanical study of nine Rosaceae species (Cotoneaster karatavicus, Crataegus ambigua, Malus niedzwetzkyana, Malus sieversii, Prunus tenella, Prunus ulmifolia, Sibiraea laevigata, Sorbus persica, and Spiraeanthus schrenkianus) and the development of ex situ approaches for the conservation of Rosaceae species listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. The geobotanical study revealed an alarming trend of biodiversity loss in five regions of Kazakhstan. This loss is driven by threats from diseases and pests, as well as the aging of plants, small population sizes, weak in situ fruiting, and other factors, such as climate change. We have established an in vitro collection for the short- and medium-term conservation of seeds, embryos and shoots taken either directly from field-grown plants or from budwood cuttings forced indoors. We also use long-term sexual conservation methods, such as the cryopreservation of seed and embryonic axes, alongside conventional seed banking at −20 °C. Ex situ conservation efforts that use multiple propagules and storage methods for the same species are well-suited to a diverse genebank facility. These efforts enable future generations to use this valuable reservoir of genetic diversity for crop improvement and may also serve as a basis for propagating planting material to restore degraded populations.