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Background. Improving the grain quality of modern spring bread wheat cultivars is a highly relevant task of breeding. To solve this problem, old and local wheat varieties (landraces) are of considerable interest. A rich collection of them is available among the plant genetic resources preserved at VIR. With this in view, the aim of this research was to identify sources of high protein, gluten, macro- and micronutrient content out of the landraces from the VIR collection for improvement of wheat grain quality through breeding.Materials and methods. Field and laboratory research were conducted in the experimental field of Omsk State Agrarian University under the conditions of the southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia in 2020–2021. Sowing was carried out on fallow on conventional sowing dates. Mineral composition in the grain of the studied landraces was analyzed at the Kurchatov Genomic Center, Novosibirsk, using atomic absorption spectrometry techniques.Results. The research results showed that landraces from different regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan were characterized by high levels of protein (18.4–18.8%) and gluten (35.9–36.0%) in grain. Landraces from Kazakhstan had low Zn content (on average 38.3 mg/kg), while those from Kyrgyzstan, on the contrary, had high content of Zn (41.9 mg/kg) and Fe (55.1 mg/kg), and landraces from Tajikistan had high K content (3820 mg/kg). A positive relationship between the concentrations of Mg, Mn, Fe, and Zn was found in the grain of wheat landraces.Conclusion. Wheat landraces are of interest as genetic resources for the development of high-protein cultivars with improved nutritional value of grain for the milling and breadmaking industries.

Wheatgrass (Th. intermedium) has been traditionally used in wheat breeding for obtaining wheat-wheatgrass hybrids and varieties with introgressions of new genes for economically valuable traits. However, in the 1980s in the United States wheatgrass was selected from among perennial plant species as having promise for domestication and the development of dual-purpose varieties for grain (as an alternative to perennial wheat) and hay. The result of this work was the creation of the wheatgrass varieties Kernza (The Land Institute, Kansas) and MN-Clearwater (University of Minnesota, Minnesota). In Omsk State Agrarian University, the variety Sova was developed by mass selection of the most winter-hardy biotypes with their subsequent combination from the population of wheatgrass obtained from The Land Institute. The average grain yield of the variety Sova is 9.2 dt/ha, green mass is 210.0 dt/ ha, and hay is 71.0 dt/ha. Wheatgrass is a crop with a large production potential, beneficial environmental properties, and valuable grain for functional food. Many publications show the advantages of growing the Kernza variety compared to annual crops in reducing groundwater nitrate contamination, increasing soil carbon sequestration, and reducing energy and economic costs. However, breeding programs for domestication of perennial crops are very limited in Russia. This paper presents an overview of main tasks faced by breeders, aimed at enhancing the yield and cultivating wheatgrass efficiency as a perennial grain and fodder crop. To address them, both traditional and modern biotechnological and molecular cytogenetic approaches are used. The most important task is to transfer target genes of Th. intermedium to modern wheat varieties and decrease the level of chromatin carrying undesirable genes of the wild relative. The first consensus map of wheatgrass containing 10,029 markers was obtained, which is important for searching for genes and their introgressions to the wheat genome. The results of research on the nutritional and technological properties of wheatgrass grain for the development of food products as well as the differences in the quality of wheatgrass grain and wheat grain are presented.

Spring bread wheat is the staple crop in Western Siberia and Kazakhstan, a significant portion of which goes for export. Wheat breeding with a high level of zinc in wheat grain is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to address zinc deficiency in the diet. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the contribution of the factors ‘location’ and ‘genotype’ in the variability of zinc content in wheat grain, and to identify the best varieties as sources of this trait for breeding. The research on screening zinc content in the wheat grain of 49 spring bread wheat varieties from the KazakhstanSiberia Spring Wheat Trial (KASIB) nursery was carried out at 4 sites in Russia (Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Tyumen, Novosibirsk) and 2 sites in Kazakhstan (Karabalyk and Shortandy) in 2017–2018. The content of zinc in wheat grain was evaluated at the Ionomic Facility of University of Nottingham in the framework of the EU project European Plant Phenotyping Network-2020. The analysis of variance showed that the main contribution into the general phenotypic variation of the studied trait, 38.7 %, was made by the factor ‘location’ due to different contents of zinc and moisture in the soil of trial sites; the effect of the factor ‘year’ was 13.5 %, and the effect of the factor ‘genotype’ was 8.0 %. The most favorable environmental conditions for accumulation of zinc in wheat grain were observed in the Omsk region. In Omsk, the average zinc content in all studied varieties was 50.4 mg/kg, with 63.7 mg/kg in the best variety ‘OmGAU 100’. These values are higher than the target values of the international program Harvest Plus. ‘Novosibirskaya 16’ (49.4 mg/kg), ‘Silach’ (48.4 mg/kg), ‘Line 4-10-16’ (47.2 mg/kg), ‘Element 22’ (46.3 mg/kg) and ‘Lutescens 248/01’ (46.0 mg/kg) were identified as being the best varieties. Significant possibilities for the production of wheat grain with high zinc content, which is in demand for the production of bread and pastry products with functional properties, were identified in the Western Siberian region.

Stem rust in recent years has acquired an epiphytotic character, causing significant economic damage for wheat production in some parts of Western Siberia. On the basis of a race composition study of the stem rust populations collected in 2016–2017 in Omsk region and Altai Krai, 13 pathotypes in Omsk population and 10 in Altai population were identified. The race differentiation of stem rust using a tester set of 20 North American Sr genes differentiator lines was carried out. The genes of stem rust pathotypes of the Omsk population are avirulent only to the resistance gene Sr31, Altai isolates are avirulent not only to Sr31, but also to Sr24, and Sr30. A low frequency of virulence (10–25 %) of the Omsk population pathotypes was found for Sr11, Sr24,Sr30, and for Altai population – Sr7b,Sr9b,Sr11,SrTmp, which are ineffective in Omsk region. Field evaluations of resistance to stem rust were made in 2016–2018 in Omsk region in the varieties and spring wheat lines from three different sources. The first set included 58 lines and spring bread wheat varieties with identified Sr genes – the so-called trap nursery (ISRTN – International Stem Rust Trap Nursery). The second set included spring wheat lines from the Arsenal collection, that were previously selected according to a complex of economically valuable traits, with genes for resistance to stem rust, including genes introgressed into the common wheat genome from wild cereal species. The third set included spring bread wheat varieties created in the Omsk State Agrarian University within the framework of a shuttle breeding program, with a synthetic wheat with the Ae. tauschiigenome in their pedigrees. It was established that the resistance genes Sr31, Sr40,Sr2 complexare effective against stem rust in the conditions of Western Siberia. The following sources with effective Srgenes were selected: (Benno)/6*LMPG-6 DK42, Seri 82, Cham 10, Bacanora (Sr31), RL 6087 Dyck (Sr40), Amigo (Sr24,1RS-Am), Siouxland (Sr24,Sr31), Roughrider (Sr6, Sr36), Sisson (Sr6,Sr31,Sr36), and Fleming (Sr6,Sr24,Sr36,1RS-Am), Pavon 76 (Sr2 complex) from the ISRTN nursery; No. 1 BC 1F2 (96 × 113) × 145 × 113 (Sr2,Sr36,Sr44), No. 14а F 3(96 × 113) × 145 (Sr36,Sr44), No. 19 BC 2F3(96 × 113) × 113 (Sr2, Sr36, Sr44), and No. 20 F 3 (96 × 113) × 145 (Sr2,Sr36,Sr40, Sr44) from the Arsenal collection; and the Omsk State Agrarian University varieties Element 22 (Sr31,Sr35), Lutescens 27-12, Lutescens 87-12 (Sr23,Sr36), Lutescens 70-13, and Lutescens 87-13 (Sr23,Sr31,Sr36). These sources are recommended for inclusion in the breeding process for developing stem rust resistant varieties in the region.

Drought during the wheat vegetative period happens often in West Siberia and Kazakhstan condition. For this reason, varieties with adaptation to climatic zones, drought tolerance and high stability have high importance. The breeding efficiency and rates depend on the amount of information on genotypes in every study cycle. The aim of this study was to screen breeding material in Siberian and Kazakhstan research institutes from KASIB nurseries for drought tolerance and to develop a drought tolerant pool. For the evaluation of genotypes, it is necessary to study them in diverse condition. The basic purpose of the present work is to study breading material of durum wheat from KASIB institutions at different ecological sites. In 2000–2015, durum wheat entries in the Kazakhstan-Siberian program were studied. Progress in durum wheat breeding was tested in Russian and Kazakhstan institutes. Entries were screened for drought tolerance, yield and yield stability. They have value for including in hybridization for developing varieties with adaptation to Siberian and Kazakhstan conditions. The following varieties and lines are recommended for breading for drought tolerance: 383-МС, 452-МС, Каrgala 303, Каrgala 447, Каrgalа 24, Каrgala 1515/06, Каrgala 1516/06, Каrgala 69, Каrgala 1538, Каrgalа 1540, Каrgalа 1539, Kargalа 1671, Каrgalа 1411 (Акtubinsk Agricultural Experimental Station), Hordeiforme 91-25-5, Hordeiforme 91-22-2, Jemthujina Sibiri, Hordeiforme 94-94-13, Hordeiforme 98-42-1, Hordeiforme 01-121-3, Hordeiforme 02-156-1 (Siberian Research Agricultural Institute), Аltin schigis, Аltin dala, Line Г1549 (Каrabalyk Experimental Station), Hordeiforme 373, Hordeiforme 627 (Altai Research Agricultural Institute), 17394, 18053, Nauriz-6 (Кazakh Research-Production Center of Agriculture and Plant Growing), Коllektivnaya 2, ТС-15 (Kurgan Research Agricultural Institute), Line 653d-4 (Sаmara Research Agricultural Institute).