BackgroundFlavonoids are produced in all flowering plants in a wide range of tissues including in berry fruits. These compounds are of considerable interest for their biological activities, health benefits and potential pharmacological applications. However, transcriptomic and genomic resources for wild and cultivated berry fruit species are often limited, despite their value in underpinning the in-depth study of metabolic pathways, fruit ripening as well as in the identification of genotypes rich in bioactive compounds.ResultsTo access the genetic diversity of wild and cultivated berry fruit species that accumulate high levels of phenolic compounds in their fleshy berry(-like) fruits, we selected 13 species from Europe, South America and Asia representing eight genera, seven families and seven orders within three clades of the kingdom Plantae. RNA from either ripe fruits (ten species) or three ripening stages (two species) as well as leaf RNA (one species) were used to construct, assemble and analyse de novo transcriptomes. The transcriptome sequences are deposited in the BacHBerryGEN database (http://jicbio.nbi.ac.uk/berries) and were used, as a proof of concept, via its BLAST portal (http://jicbio.nbi.ac.uk/berries/blast.html) to identify candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid compounds. Genes encoding regulatory proteins of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (MYB and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and WD40 repeat proteins) were isolated using the transcriptomic resources of wild blackberry (Rubus genevieri) and cultivated red raspberry (Rubus idaeus cv. Prestige) and were shown to activate anthocyanin synthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana. Expression patterns of candidate flavonoid gene transcripts were also studied across three fruit developmental stages via the BacHBerryEXP gene expression browser (http://www.bachberryexp.com) in R. genevieri and R. idaeus cv. Prestige.ConclusionsWe report a transcriptome resource that includes data for a wide range of berry(-like) fruit species that has been developed for gene identification and functional analysis to assist in berry fruit improvement. These resources will enable investigations of metabolic processes in berries beyond the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway analysed in this study. The RNA-seq data will be useful for studies of berry fruit development and to select wild plant species useful for plant breeding purposes.

The fruits of three berry species cultivated in Russia, Rubus idaeus, Ribes L. species (R. nigrum and R. nigrum × R. dikuscha) and the less common Lonicera caerulea, were investigated for their minerals and phytochemical compounds. Under the same environmental conditions, differences in contents of nutrients and bioactive compounds among species were found. Lonicera caerulea contained the highest level of K, Ribes L. presented the highest content of Ca, while R. idaeus displayed the highest content of Mg and different micro-elements (Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo). Lonicera caerulea and Ribes L. displayed the highest content of sugars, but the profile of individual sugars differed among each species, with a probable influence on the fruit's organoleptic quality. The most striking result was the polyphenolic contents of L. caerulea which was significantly higher than that of Ribes L. and R. idaeus, two species already known to contain large amounts of these antioxidant compounds. This difference was much higher when the subclass of anthocyanins is considered. These results revealed L. caerulea as a promising species from a nutritional perspective.

BACterial Hosts for production of Bioactive phenolics from bERRY fruits (BacHBerry) was a 3-year project funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Union that ran between November 2013 and October 2016. The overall aim of the project was to establish a sustainable and economically-feasible strategy for the production This article is written by the BacHBerry consortium (www. bachberry.eu) and represents the collective effort of all participating institutions. The authors are therefore listed in alphabetical order.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

In the framework of the program initiated at the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), nomenclatural standards of five domestic black currant cultivars have been prepared. The present paper presents nomenclatural standards of these five cultivars bred at VIR: ‘Binar’, ‘Veloy’, ‘Peterburzhenka’, ‘Poeziya’ and ‘Trilena’. Plant morphological traits and breeding characters of these cultivars are described. Iinformation is provided on the formation and development of the VIR black currants collection at the Pavlovsk Experiment Station of VIR.

Background. High yield is one of the main requirements for modern black currant cultivars. It depends on many factors, but is always linked to self-fertility. Highly selffertile cultivars are of particular importance in areas with unfavorable weather conditions during flowering, because they are able to provide high yields even in single-cultivar plantings. In this regard, it is very important to study selffertility of cultivars in order to identify those with the highest level of this character for use in breeding and large-scale cultivation.Materials and methods. The study of selffertility was carried out at Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR in 2014–2017. Fifty-seven black currant cultivars of different genetic and ecogeographic origin were the material of the research. The degree of self-fertility was measured by conventional techniques in 3 variants of pollination: 1) natural self-pollination; 2) artificial self-pollination; and 3) free pollination. Statistical data processing was performed using Microsoft Excel and the guidelines by B. A. Dospekhov.Results and conclusions. Highly self-fertile cultivars were identified, which may be recommended for breeders as sources of this trait: ‘Navlya’ (k-42228), ‘Dobrynya’ (k-42121), ‘Golubichka’ (k-32624), ‘Golosievsky velikan’ (k-44176), ‘Valentina’ (k-15631A), ‘Kozatskaya’ (k-44187), ‘Arapka’ (к-44175), ‘Kanakhama’ (k-44197) and ‘Fat’ (k-42509). High yield in the Northwest of Russia can be secured by cultivars that combine high self-fertility with large fruit size: ‘Valentina’ (k-15631A), ‘Vernisazh’ (k-43126), ‘Garmoniya’ (k-40677), ‘Dobrynya’ (k-42121), ‘Desertnaya Ogoltsovoy’(k-45670), ‘Joninai’ (k-43124), ‘Kanakhama’ (k-44197), ‘Karri (k-44172), ‘Mila’ (k-40673), ‘Sevchanka’(k-45551), ‘Sofievskaya’(k-43131), ‘Talisman’ (k-44183), ‘Yubileinaya Kopanya’ (k-44189), ‘Shalunya’(k-41988), and accession 2780-20-33 (k-15575A). It is shown that free pollination and artificial self-pollinationprovide a positive impact on the fruit setting level, fruit weight and seed productivity. Natural autogamy, on the contrary, tends to decrease the weight of berries and the number of seeds in them.