FEATURES OF THE PIGMENT APPARATUS OF THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC SYSTEM OF ELMS AND GLEDICHIAS IN FOREST AMELIORATION AND PROTECTIVE AFFORESTATION

Background. Woody plants within southern Russia are impacted by drought, which leads to changes in their living conditions. The living condition depends on the work of the pigment apparatus of the photosynthetic system and leaf mesostructure. The purpose of this work was to reveal the functioning features of the pigment apparatus of the photosynthetic system and the structural organization in Ulmus laevis, Ulmus parvifolia, and Gleditsia triacanthos leaves. Result. The study revealed new species-specific features of the leaf pigment apparatus of the photosynthetic system and the structural organization in "healthy and weakened" plants under stress conditions. Methods. The vital condition of trees was evaluated by visual analysis of crown parameters according to the V.A. Alekseeva’s method. Quantitative data were processed using the Statistica 12.0 program. Conclusion. During the analysis of genes and their products, the effect on the work of the pigment apparatus of the photosynthetic system was shown in normal and under stress. In this regard, it is necessary to further search for DNA markers of these genes and their degree of expression involved in the mechanisms of adaptation to adverse environmental factors. The study of the leaf pigment apparatus of the photosynthetic system and the structural organization in woody plants can be used to obtain new genotypes with economically valuable features, bioindication, and selection of optimal regimes for their cultivation. Acknowledgments. The research was carried out within the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, No. FNFE-2022-0009 "Search for selection and valuable genetic material to create new genotypes of woody shrubs by molecular breeding methods" and No. FNFE-2022-0022 "Search and management of expression patterns of forest and cultivated plant genes responsible for adaptation to unfavorable environmental factors and productivity".