Oilcakes from the oilseed industry are rich in dietary fibre and protein by-products. We assessed the impact of wheat flour replacement with raspberry and strawberry oilcakes on the proximate composition of bread, colour, texture and water behaviour. The substitution influenced the ash, fat and protein content causing an increase in the content of each of the analysed macronutrients. The crumb colour components (CIE L*a*b*) were shifted toward red while the saturation of yellow decreased. Texture analysis showed that the hardness and chewiness of crumb with oilcakes increased as well as springiness decreased. It was found that flour substitution with oilcakes limited significantly water transport and also influenced the molecular dynamics of water in the bread crumb. ¹H NMR measurement results of relaxation times demonstrated that the free water in relation to the bound water in the examined systems depended on the amount of the flour replaced by the oilcake, as well as on the botanical origin of the oilcakes.

In the last decade, many scientists have used molecular biology methods in their research to locate the grain-yield-determining loci and yield structure characteristics in maize. Large-scale molecular analyses in maize do not only focus on the identification of new markers and quantitative trait locus (QTL) regions. DNA analysis in the selection of parental components for heterotic crosses is a very important tool for breeders. The aim of this research was to identify and select new markers for maize (SNP and SilicoDArT) linked to genes influencing the size of the yield components in maize. The plant material used for the research was 186 inbred maize lines. The field experiment was established in twolocations. The yield and six yield components were analyzed. For identification of SNP and SilicoDArT markers related to the yield and yield components, next-generation sequencing was used. As a result of the biometric measurements analysis, differentiation in the average elevation of the analyzed traits for the lines in both locations was found. The above-mentioned results indicate the existence of genotype–environment interactions. The analysis of variance for the observed quality between genotypes indicated a statistically significant differentiation between genotypes and a statistically significant differentiation for all the observed properties betweenlocations. A canonical variable analysis was applied to present a multi-trait assessment of the similarity of the tested maize genotypes in a lower number of dimensions with the lowest possible loss of information. No grouping of lines due to the analyzed was observed. As a result of next-generation sequencing, the molecular markers SilicoDArT (53,031) and SNP (28,571) were obtained. The genetic distance between the analyzed lines was estimated on the basis of these markers. Out of 81,602 identified SilicoDArT and SNP markers, 15,409 (1559 SilicoDArT and 13,850 SNPs) significantly related to the analyzed yield components were selected as a result of association mapping. The greatest numbers of molecular markers were associated with cob length (1203), cob diameter (1759), core length (1201) and core diameter (2326). From 15,409 markers significantly related to the analyzed traits of the yield components, 18 DArT markers were selected, which were significant for the same four traits (cob length, cob diameter, core length, core diameter) in both Kobierzyce and Smolice. These markers were used for physical mapping. As a result of the analyses, it was found that 6 out of 18 (1818; 14,506; 2317; 3233; 11,657; 12,812) identified markers are located inside genes. These markers are located on chromosomes 8, 9, 7, 3, 5, and 1, respectively.

A number of studies have shown that the greater the genetic diversity of parental lines, the greater the heterosis effect. Genetic or phenotypic variation can be estimated by genotype testing on the basis of the observations obtained through prediction (a priori) or the observations and studies (a posteriori). The first method uses data such as the genealogy of a given subject and the information about its geographical origin. The second method is based on the phenotypic observation and studies, as well as on the molecular research. The development of molecular genetics and genotype testing methods at the DNA level has made it possible to rapidly assess the genetic variability regardless of the modifying effect of the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the degree of relatedness and the DNA polymorphism (determined using AFLP, RAPD, and SSR markers) of inbred maize lines and the effect of hybrid-form heterosis. Our analysis demonstrated that the parental components for heterosis crosses can be selected on the basis of the genetic similarity determined using the molecular SSR markers and the Jaccard, Kluczyński, Nei, and Rogers coefficients. Molecular AFLP markers proved less useful for selecting the parental components, but may be used to group lines with incomplete origin data. In the case of the RAPD markers, no clear relationship between genetic distance and the heterosis effect was found in this study.

Androgenesis is potentially the most effective technique for doubled haploid production of wheat. It is not however widely used in breeding programmes due to its main limitation: the genotype dependence. Due to genetic differences between spring and winter wheat, it was assumed that both phenotypes are different in their capacity to conduct androgenesis. And so, the aim of this investigation was to verify the effectiveness of androgenesis induction and plant regeneration of spring and winter wheat genotypes while considering varying amounts of growth hormones in the induction medium. Fifteen genotypes of spring wheat and fifteen of winter wheat were used in the experiment. Six hundred anthers of each of the 30 genotypes were plated and analysed. Previous studies have allowed selection of the best medium for wheat androgenesis and a combination of growth hormones that are the most effective in stimulating microspore proliferation. Therefore, C17 induction media with two combinations of growth hormones were used: I—supplemented only by auxins (2,4-D and dicamba), and II—supplemented by auxin and cytokinin (2,4-D and kinetin). Data was recorded according to the efficiency of androgenic structure formation (ASF), green plant regeneration (GPR), and albino plant regeneration (APR). The results showed that the induction and regeneration of androgenesis in the spring wheat were more efficient than in the winter ones. The spring genotypes formed more androgenic structures and green plants on anthers plated on the medium supplemented only by auxins, in contrast to the winter genotypes which were better induced and regenerated on the medium supplemented by auxin and cytokinin. The study showed that to increase the efficiency of androgenesis, it is necessary to select appropriate factors such as concentration and type of hormones in medium composition, affecting the course of the culturing procedure according to the winter or spring phenotype of donor plants.

The article presents the technological and antioxidant properties of potato juice (PJ) protein concentrate obtained by the novel ultrafiltration method. Commercial products, obtained from waste PJ by the traditional method of acid coagulation of proteins, were studied for comparison. Functional properties such as water or oil absorption, foaming capacity, and foam stability (FS) as well as solubility at various pH were assessed. Moreover, the total phenolic compound content, antioxidant activity, and mineral composition were determined. The results showed that PJ protein concentrate obtained by ultrafiltration has good oil absorption properties (6.30 mL/g), which is more than two times higher than the commercial proteins used in the comparison (P2 = 2.33 mL/g and P3 = 2.67 mL/g). Moreover, the ability to create and stabilize foam was also higher (FS ranging from 20.0% at pH = 10 to 11.3% at pH = 2 after 60 min of testing). It had higher content of macro- and microelements and antioxidant activity compared to other samples. Therefore, it is possible to obtain interesting potato protein concentrate from the waste product of the starch production process, which may be an interesting raw material for enriching food.

Spectacular scientific advances in the area of molecular biology and the development of modern biotechnological tools have had a significant impact on the development of maize heterosis breeding. One technology based on next-generation sequencing is DArTseq. The plant material used for the research consisted of 13 hybrids resulting from the crossing of inbred maize lines. A two-year field experiment was established at two Polish breeding stations: Smolice and Łagiewniki. Nine quantitative traits were observed: cob length, cob diameter, core length, core diameter, number of rows of grain, number of grains in a row, mass of grain from the cob, weight of one thousand grains, and yield. The isolated DNA was subjected to DArTseq genotyping. Association mapping was performed using a method based on the mixed linear model. A total of 81602 molecular markers (28571 SNPs and 53031 SilicoDArTs) were obtained as a result of next-generation sequencing. Out of 81602, 15409 (13850 SNPs and 1559 SilicoDArTs) were selected for association analysis. The 105 molecular markers (8 SNPs and 97 SilicoDArTs) were associated with the heterosis effect of at least one trait in at least one environment. A total of 186 effects were observed. The number of statistically significant relationships between the molecular marker and heterosis effect varied from 8 (for cob length) and 9 (for yield) to 42 (for the number of rows of grain). Of particular note were three markers (2490222, 2548691 and 7058267), which were significant in 17, 8 and 6 cases, respectively. Two of them (2490222 and 7058267) were associated with the heterosis effects of yield in three of the four environments.