Edible honeysuckle is a popular fruit crop. Its therapeutic and health-promoting effects are attributed to a high content of bioactive compounds in the fruits. Unlike the traditional plant multiplication methods, the in vitro propagation allows scientists to obtain high-quality planting material of honeysuckle in a great quantity and within a short time. The research was carried out at the Laboratory of Breeding and Genetic Research on Field Crops of the Federal Scientific Center of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaiki. Honeysuckle variety Podarok amurchanam created by the Far Eastern State Agrarian University was used as the research object. The research materials were sterilized according to the methodology of N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources with some modifications. Several products were used as chemical agents for sterilization in the following sequence: a 5% solution of surfactants, fungicide Fundazol, EC (1 g/l), the bleaching agent ACE freshly diluted with distilled water in the proportion 1:9 (0.50% of NaOCl in the working solution), and 70% ethanol. The primary explants were cultured on an MS containing 20 g/l sucrose and 6 g/l agar (hereafter – MS) and supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) at a concentration of 0.5 mg/l. The pH of the medium was adjusted to 5.7-5.8 using 1N КОН. The explants (microcuttings with one-two internodes) were subcultured on an MS supplemented with BA (0.5 mg/l). The morphometric parameters of the plants were measured on the 35th day of cultivation. The sterilization of the explants with Fundazol (1 g/l) and the ACE diluted with distilled water in the proportion 1:9 allowed us to obtain a high number of viable microclones (50%). The elimination of leaves from the honeysuckle microcuttings drastically decreased the survival rate and led to the death of the microclones in most cases (the mortality rate was 98.7 %). Subculturing the microcuttings on the MS supplemented with BA at a concentration of 0.5 mg/l facilitated the normal growth and development of the regenerated honeysuckle plants (the average reproduction rate was 4.65).

Background. Various plant hormones are used (cytokinins, auxins) to increase the regeneration efficiency and the net reproduction rate of buckwheat in vitro. However, the growth and development rates of plantlets have been noted to be low under these conditions. For this reason, search for the plant extracts that are able to stimulate the regenerative ability of plants is a promising direction of biotechnological research.Materials and methods. Aseptic single-node cuttings of common buckwheat plantlets (varieties Dikul and Izumrud) were grown on MS nutrient media with plant extracts from Fagopyrum esculentum and Reynoutria japonica (0.1, 0.5, and 1%) for 21 days. The following morphobiological paramaters of the plantlets were evaluated: plant height, the number of internodes, the number of leaves, leaf length, and the number and length of roots.Results. Dealcoholized aqueous solutions of the extracts from F. esculentum and R. japonica in the studied concentrations (0.1-1%) significantly stimulated the growth and development of the buckwheat plantlets increasing their net reproduction rate (4.00-6.00) and rhizogenesis. The media with the plant extracts in concentrations of 0.1-0.5% were observed to produce the strongest positive effect. As the result, the morphobiological characteristics of the plantlets and the success rate of the micropropagation were the highest.

Scientific relevance. The garden petunia, Petunia hybrida, is a popular and wide spread ornamental crop from the family Solanaceae. It is a promising model plant for molecular and genetic research. In vitro micropropagation plays an important role in the distribution of the garden petunia because the survivability and quality of seed material decreases significantly in every subsequent generation. Besides, micropropagation reduces the cost of production substantially. Considering that very few researchers addressed this question in the Russian Federation, this direction of research is still worthy of attention.Materials and methods. The experiments were conducted by the Laboratory of Breeding and Genetic Research on Field Crops at FSBSI “Federal Scientific Center of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaiki”. Seeds of Petunia hybrida (double-flowered) were used as primary explants. Liquid bleacher ACE diluted with distilled water in the proportion 1:9 was used as a sterilizing agent (the working solution contained 0.50% NaOCl). The total time of exposure was 15 minutes. The primary explants were subcultured onto a hormone-free Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 20 g/L sucrose and 6 g/L agar. Isolated in vitro objects were cultured in test tubes with cotton-gauze plugs at an illuminance of 4000 lx, a temperature of 22–25 °C, and a 16h photoperiod in a culture room. The duration of one passage was 60 days. Micropropagation was carried out using 7- 10 mm cuttings with one or two nodes. The pot culture of the regenerants was established under controlled conditions in a light room (photoperiod was 16 hours, temperature was 23°С).Results. The optimal method for introducing Petunia hybrida into cell culture is the use of seeds treated with the solution of bleacher ACE that was diluted with distilled water in the proportion 1:9. The optimal time of exposure is 15 minutes. Petunia hybrida demonstrated a high regeneration rate on the hormone-free MS medium – it had a fast growth and development rate, and good rhizogenesis; the reproductive rate was 8.77. For the micropropagation of the garden petunia, it is advisable to use cuttings of test tube plants, which should be placed onto a hormone-free MS medium. The test tube plants of Petunia hybrida acclimatized successfully on a soil substrate. This shows the high plasticity of the culture.

Relevance. Plants of potato varieties are carriers of viral pathogens in a latent form. These viruses can be transmitted to clonal progeny of the carriers. The system of virus-free seed production facilitates the elimination of the viruses in seed potatoes and preserves the high productivity of potato varieties. The research goal was to develop a scheme for virus elimination in potato using biotechnological methods and to introduce this scheme in the production of virus-free tubers under the conditions of Primorsky krai.Material and methods. New promising variety Moryak (breeding number Pri-08-11-1), which was created in FSBSI “FSC of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Far East named after A.K. Chaiki”, was used as the research object. The mean yield of the new genotype is 34.1 t/ha, the potential yield is 40.1 t/ha. The dry matter content is 18.13-23.85%, the starch content is 12.10-17.24%, and the content of vitamin C is 17.46-23.12 mg/100 g. This variety has a high keeping quality of tubers (92.2-94.4%) and resistance to excessive soil moisture. Tissue culture and chemotherapy in combination with ribavirin (a concentration of 0.02-0.03%) and chitosan (0.01-0.1%) were used for virus elimination. Sprouts from the original tubers and plantlets were tested by EIA and qPCR for latent infection (PVX, PVY, PVA, PVS, PVM, PLRV).Results. A sequential increase in the concentration of ribavirin (from 0.02 to 0.03%) and chitosan (from 0.01 to 0.1%) and their alternation in different passages proved to be an effective method for virus elimination in plantlets. As the result of the research, the new scheme for the elimination of the most economically important potato viruses was developed and introduced, and virus-free seed material was obtained.

Relevance. Currently, food products that include prebiotics, in particular, inulin, are particularly popular. Interest in this substance is justified by its valuable properties – it is a good immunomodulator, cleanses the body of toxins, radionuclides, "bad" cholesterol, promotes the assimilation of useful trace elements necessary for human life. Inulin is contained in plants such as jerusalem artichoke, chicory, as well as in sweet potatoes, the popularity of which is increasing every year. However, sweet potato plants are afraid of cold and frost-resistant. Therefore, the creation of new varieties and hybrids that are resistant to low temperatures is an urgent problem. Cellular biotechnology is aimed at solving this problem using methods of clonal microreproduction, cell selection, somatic hybridization, etc. For rapid reproduction and obtaining high-quality planting material, biotechnology methods are used, in particular, clonal micro-propagation. However, in this technology there are difficulties associated with poor adaptation of microclones to ex vitro conditions. This fact introduces an additional requirement for the selection of optimal rooting modes in vitro and ex vitro adaptation of microclones.Material and methodology. The aim of the work was to study the influence of cultivation conditions on in vitro rooting and ex vitro adaptation of I. batatas (L.) microclones. The object of the study was sweet potato microgears propagated in vitro. I. batatas micro-gears were cultured in vitro on a Murashige-Skug medium, differing by the type of auxins. The influence of red (R) and far red (FR) light on the shoots rooting in vitro and the adaptation of microclones ex vitro was studied.Results. It has been experimentally established that the cultivation of micro-gears on a medium containing indolyl butyric acid at a concentration of 0.5-1 mg/l and under conditions of illumination by LED lamps of red and far red light in equal amounts leads to the production of microclones with a well-developed root system and vegetative biomass. The use of an aeroponic installation at the last stage of clonal micro-propagation makes it possible to obtain high-quality planting material that can adapt well to open ground conditions.