No abstract

Peanut is one of the most important crops in the Fabaceae Lindl. (Leguminosae L.) family. South America is considered to be the homeland of peanut, but now this crop is cultivated in America, Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia. The modern phylogenetic system of the genus Arachis L. includes 79 wild species and one cultivated species of common peanut (A. hypogaea L.). Diploid species contain 2n = 20 chromosomes of the A, B or D genome, tetraploids have A and B genomes. The А and В genomes are sequenced. Special biological features of all peanut varieties are the presence of chasmogamous and cleistogamous flowers and the development of pods only underground (geocarpy). Along with high requirements for improving the quality of oil and food products, much attention is paid to their safety: resistance to aflatoxin contamination and mitigation of allergenicity. Peanut cultivars vary in plant habit, shape and color of pods and seeds. Their growing season in Africa, Latin America and Asia is from 160 to 200 days, so early-ripening forms need to be selected for the south of the Russian Federation. Breeders from the Pustovoit Institute of Oil Crops (VNIIMK) have developed peanut cultivars with a yield of 2.0–3.3 t/ha and growing season duration of 115–120 days, adaptable to the environments of Krasnodar Territory. At present, there is no large-scale peanut production in Russia, nor any breeding efforts are underway. As for the world, along with conventional breeding practices (individual selection, intra- and interspecies crosses, etc.), peanut is widely involved in genomic studies. A number of cultivars highly resistant to pests, diseases and drought have been released. Over 15,000 peanut accessions are preserved in the world’s gene banks, including 1823 accessions in the collection of the Vavilov Institute (VIR). Utilization of the worldwide genetic resources of peanut and use of modern research technologies will contribute to the revival of peanut cultivation in Russia.

Common peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), or peanut, is an annual herbaceous plant from the legume family (Fabaceae). Russia is one of the largest buyers of peanuts, and at the same time, in the south of the country, a number of zones meet the requirements for the cultivation of this crop. However, at present there are no commercial peanut crops in Russia, and selection work is almost not carried out. It is necessary to identify a new source material for breeding and breeding new high-yielding varieties. In the genomes of species of the genus Arachis, homologues of agrobacterial opine synthase genes, cucumopine synthase (cus) and deoxyfructosylglutamine synthase (mas2`), have been identified. The expression of these genes can affect the economically valuable traits of the plant, since the synthesis of various opines affects the composition of the microbiome in the rhizosphere. We have analyzed the expression of the cus gene in various organs of 9 peanut lines from the VIR collection, which have different geographical origin, belong to different cultivar types, and differ in morphological characters. As a result of the analysis, the organ-specific expression was shown; samples were identified that were contrasting in terms of the level of cus gene expression, including those with a high level of expression in the roots (kk-168, 416, 751). For the first time, data were obtained on the work of the cus gene at different stages of plant development on accessions k-168 and k-1157. An increase in the level of expression in the roots during flowering was revealed; during seed germination, the expression is lower. Further analysis and search for a correlation between the expression level of the cus gene and the manifestation of economically valuable traits in peanuts can provide new material for creating promising varieties. The studies were carried out using the equipment of the resource center of the Science Park of Saint Petersburg State University Development of molecular and cellular technologies. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 21-14-00050.

Background: Russia is one of the largest peanut importing countries. At the same time, in the south of the country, several zones meet the requirements for peanut cultivation. It is possible to increase the yield of the existing peanut varieties by using modern biotechnology methods, in particular agrobacterial transformation. It is known from the literature data that different peanut genotypes and explants from various sources react differently to in vitro regeneration. Successful regeneration depends on the correct protocol, including both the type of regeneration and the composition of media promoting growth and in vitro induction.Objectives: a technique for obtaining peanut regenerants in in vitro culture.Materials and methods: Eight peanut accessions from the VIR collection of different origin were used in the work. Embryonic explants were grown on Murashige-Skoog medium supplemented with the hormone 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).Results and conclusions: As a result of assessing the regenerative ability of peanuts grown on Murashige-Skoog medium with the hormone 2,4-D at a concentration of 2 g/L, differences in the callus formation ability were revealed in different accessions. Those with catalog numbers k-793, k-2054 and k-2055 did not form organogenic calli, while accessions k-698 and k-1987 showed the highest percentage of callus formation from embryonic explants.