Industrial waste in the form of abandoned mine tailings from a former lead plant in South Kazakhstan amounts to about 2 million tons, and this has led to environmental pollution with heavy metals (HMs) in Shymkent city. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd in the mine tailings were 1354.50, 262.90, and 61.08 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination of the adjacent soils with Pb, Zn, and Cd ranged from 7.76 to 551.49, from 8.25 to 245.74, and from 5.40 to 19.23 mg/kg, respectively. In this study, the phytoremediation properties of sweet potato on soils contaminated with HMs adjacent to mine tailings were investigated. The phytoremediation efficiency of sweet potato was assessed in terms of its capacity to biotransfer and bioaccumulate HMs. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd in sweet potato in the experimental fields were 28.70–45.10, 70.0–94.20, and 1.19–1.80 mg/kg, respectively. It was determined that the pollution class of the studied soils according to I_geo was high pollution (5.28–8.80), and the potential risk of HM accumulation according to the ecological risk index proposed by Hakanson was moderate pollution.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) constitute one of the most economically important annual crops. In terms of tissue culture, potato microtubers (MTs) have a number of advantages over conventional plants. These advantages include their small size, which greatly facilitates storage, transport, and germplasm exchange compared to in vitro plants. One effective solution for the production and mass propagation of healthy MTs is the use of temporary immersion systems (TISs). In this study, in a SETIS^TM system containing kinetin/gibberellic acid (GA)/indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) hormones, we investigated the effects of different nutrient media on the morphological characteristics of potato explants and MTs. We determined the optimal cycling duration (3 h) with an immersion frequency of 2 min. The results revealed that the optimal nutrient medium for culturing single-node potato explants in a SETIS^TM bioreactor was the M7 medium containing kinetin (2 mg/L), GA (0.5 mg/L), and IBA (0.5 mg/L). The optimal nutrient medium for obtaining potato MTs was the M1 medium (hormone-free) with a high concentration of sucrose (9%) at 18 °C under dark growing conditions. Thus, a universal nutrient medium, employed in a bioreactor, was selected for the mass propagation of potato MTs for both domestic and foreign potato varieties.

Mining and metallurgical activities are among the main sources of heavy metal (HM) contamination of terrestrial ecosystems and the creation of persistent technogenic pollution hotspots. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the accumulation of zinc (Zn), cooper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in soils and vegetation under conditions of long-term industrial impact in Ridder, East Kazakhstan Region. A total of 52 soil samples were collected from 0–5 cm and 5–20 cm depths at 26 sites, and 44 species of natural vegetation, as well as three dominant agricultural crops, were examined. Soil concentrations of Zn (4415 mg·kg⁻¹), Cu (1177 mg·kg⁻¹), Cd (179 mg·kg⁻¹), and Pb (1996 mg·kg⁻¹) were classified as extremely high. Cadmium contributed most to the potential ecological risk (Cd > Pb > Zn > Cu). The industrial zone’s vegetation cover was predominantly formed by stress-tolerant and ruderal species, including Artemisia vulgaris, Calamagrostis epigeios, Bunias orientalis, Dactylis glomerata, Convolvulus arvensis, and Urtica dioica. The agricultural crops (Helianthus annuus, Avena sativa, and Triticum aestivum) mainly accumulated HMs in their root systems, with limited translocation to their aboveground organs (TF < 1). This indicates the predominance of phytostabilisation mechanisms, and highlights the potential of locally adapted plants for managing contaminated areas.

Heavy metal pollution poses a serious threat to soil ecosystems worldwide, as long-term exposure can alter microbial community functioning and reduce overall ecosystem resilience. This study investigated the impact of heavy metal contamination in technogenic industrial areas of the East Kazakhstan Region on soil microbial communities. Soil samples were collected for chemical and metagenomic analyses. Concentrations of Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd were quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Using long-read whole-metagenome nanopore sequencing, we conducted strain-level profiling of soils with different levels of metal contamination. This approach provided high-resolution taxonomic data, enabling detailed characterization of microbial community structure. Heavy metal exposure did not significantly reduce microbial diversity or richness but influences the quality of community composition. Metal-resistant taxa dominated contaminated soils. Overall, the results highlight the value of long-read sequencing for resolving strain-level responses to environmental contamination.

Potato is the third most important food crop in the world in terms of adaptability, yield potential, and nutritional advantages. This study aimed to conduct potato breeding work for cultivation in Kazakhstan; potato breeding for further processing into chips with cultivation in the northern regions; and the selection of potatoes for processing into frozen French fries with cultivation in the southern and south-eastern regions. Potato varieties (Fontane, Santana, and Punchy) were used as reference varieties to check molecular markers linked to maturity, tuber shape, and flesh color. A total of 42 potato breeding lines crossed from Yagodnyi 19 and CIP clone 397079-6 were used in this study to identify prospective breeding lines. The research was carried out between 2023 and 2024 and under greenhouse conditions. According to the results of molecular analysis and phenotypic data, 21 breeding lines were identified as prospective potato breeding lines. The majority of these potato breeding lines had a round tuber shape and were recommended for chip processing. Three breeding lines had a long oval tuber shape, making them suitable for French fries. Six breeding lines with short-oval and oval tuber shapes were found for consumer potato processing. It is recommended that the breeding process and studies of biochemical properties are continued in all of these identified potato breeding lines.

Drought has increasingly affected the yield of Solanum tuberosum L. (potato) every year over the last decade, posing serious economic problems for the global agricultural industry. Therefore, it is important to research drought tolerance in plants and obtain more robust varieties of crops. The aim of the present work was to study the expression of drought-upregulated genes in drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive varieties of potato. Bioreactors were used to identify whether each variety was drought-tolerant or drought-sensitive; then, expression analysis was performed according to the morphological characteristics of the plantlets in two different media: Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium and MS medium with 20% PEG-6000 to simulate osmotic stress. Based on the quantitative parameters of six initial varieties, two varieties were selected (Gala and Aksor) for further gene expression analysis. The expression of genes commonly upregulated in drought (ER24, TAS14, DREB147315, PP2C, 102605413 and NF-YC4) was higher in the drought-tolerant variety than in the sensitive one. Therefore, the expression of these genes can be used to determine the drought tolerance of a potato variety in vitro in the early plant development stage. Moreover, comparative analysis showed that some of the targeted genes used to identify drought tolerance in this study are conserved across different plant species.