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This article is an overview of literature data on the structure, properties, functions and genetic control of the enzyme malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in plants. In most of the plant entities studied, this enzyme is highly polymorphic, which means that malate dehydrogenase has multiple molecular forms. It has been found that MDH polymorphism in each species is genetically determined by several loci with multiple alleles. A readily identifiable phenotypic manifestation and a high activity of malate dehydrogenase in diverse organs and tissues make this enzyme a reliable and convenient genetic marker, which can effectively be used in special, ecological and population genetics

There is growing interest in cereals with anthocyanins in grain as a source of natural biologically active compounds beneficial for human health. In bread wheat, anthocyanins accumulate in the pericarp, under control of Pp genes, and in the aleurone layer, under control of Ba. Breeding anthocyanin-rich wheat cultivars is possible through the transfer of genes from genetic stocks to the desired cultivars. A blue-grained substitution line, s:S294Th(4D) (BC7 progeny), of the bread wheat cultivar Saratovskaya 29 (S29) carrying the Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) chromosome 4Th was developed. The 4Th/4D substitution was confirmed with chromosome C-banding and multicolor FISH, as well as by microsatellite analysis. Total anthocyanin content in the bran fraction of the new blue-grained line was 475.7 μg/g compared to 355.6 μg/g of the control purple-grained near-isogenic line, i:S29Pp-A1Pp-D1Pp3P, and a total absence in S29. Although the developed line carries entire chromosome substitution, its 1000 grains weight, milling parameters, and dough physical properties did not differ or decreased slightly comparison to S29. These results support that the developed substitution line can be of interest in breeding programs to increase the anthocyanin production in commercial varieties.

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