Cosmopolitan in the western areas of Europe as well as on other continents, the Ilex genus is interesting for its genetic, phenotypic, and biogeographic variabilities. Its insular/local distribution, according to existing data on the periphery of the central and southern European areas, represents a suitable case study with reference to the adaptive plasticity or acclimatization of the Ilex aquifolium L. species to new climatic conditions. The aim of the present study was to analyze the genetic variability at the genome level in four insular populations of Ilex aquifolium L., i.e., in three spontaneous populations from Romania (RO), Serbia (SR), and Bulgaria (BG) and a cultivated population from Hungary (HU). According to the obtained results, the most genetically similar populations among the four considered in this study were those from SR and RO. Genetic variation overlapped genes that were generally associated with metabolic regulation/transport factors, water, and abiotic stress factors. The analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the levels of the chloroplast and mitochondrion, from the point of view of their distributions at the gene level, identified two clusters: one that includes the native populations (BG, SR, and RO) and a second one including the cultured population from HU.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder which can lead to serious long-term complications in children, including intellectual impairment. The cerebral damage can be largely eliminated if hyperphenilalaninemia (HPA) and PKU is detected by newborn screening and the dietary treatment (started no later than 10 days after birth), brings within 15 days the blood Phe level in the ranges 2 - 6 mg/dL (or equivalently 120 - 360 µmol/L). Consequently, the measurement of plasma Phe level in children with PKU is of utmost importance. We present here in detail two methods for determination of plasma Phe concentrations in children with HPA (detected by newborn screening) or suspected to have PKU based on clinical symptoms. The first method, involving two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (2D - TLC) on micro scale chromatograms, allows the identification of patients with PKU. However, the quantitation of plasma Phe concentration by the 2D - TLC video-densitometric method is only semiquantitative, because is accompanied by large errors. In contrast, the high performance liquid chromatography determination of the plasma Phe level is fast, very sensitive and higly accurate. Both methods are rather cheap and reliable, suitable for use in countries that cannot afford more expensive procedures for diagnosis and monitoring of PKU.

The study of cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata l.) is integrated into a broader international context, in which forage plant breeding aims not only to maximize production, but also to ensure an efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. Therefore, Dactylis glomerata is emerging as a reference model in breeding programs for perennial grasses, with direct implications for the competitiveness and resilience of contemporary agricultural systems. In our institute, the breeding objectives are to create varieties for complex grassland mixtures, aiming, in addition to increasing forage production, to improve the nutritional value of the forage, resistance to foliar diseases (rusts, leaf spot), competitiveness in mixtures, winter resistance, and perennially. The plant material used in this experiment was represented by 9 accessions –8 local population and one variety. Following the measurements and determinations (plant height, number of vegetative and generative tillers, length and width of the standard leaf, spike length, rust resistance etc.),we can more easily select parental forms of future varieties, depending on the current breeding objectives, the most important of which are adaptability and resistance to stress factors (drought, heavy rainfall, diseases etc.).