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Introduction. One of the urgent problems of medicine and biology is the use of plant objects as industrial producers of target metabolites in vitro. In vitro cells can be used as pharmaceutical preparations. Study objects and methods. The present research featured medicinal plants that grow in the Siberian Federal district and are a popular source of medicinal raw materials. The physicochemical properties, e.g. total ash content in extracts, the content of heavy metals, the content of organic solvents in the extracts, and the mass loss upon drying was determined by standard methods. The antimicrobial properties of in vitro extracts were determined by the diffusion method and the method based on optical density measurement. The list of opportunistic and pathogenic test strains included the following microorganisms: E. coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 25923, P. vulgaris ATCC 63, P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027, and C. albicans EMTC 34. The number of viable cancer cells was determined using the MTT colorimetric method. Results and discussion. The paper describes the physicochemical properties, safety indicators, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, and antitumor properties of extracts of a complex of biologically active substances obtained in vitro from the dried biomass of callus and suspension cell cultures and root cultures. The root extracts proved to have the maximum antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. They could reduce the survival rate of cancer cells to 24.8–36.8 %. Conclusion. The research featured extracts obtained from the dried biomass of callus and suspension cell cultures and root cultures in vitro of safflower leuzea (Leuzea carthamoides L.), Rhodiola rosea (Rhodiola rosea L.), various sorts of skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis L., Scutellaria andrachnoides L., Scutellaria galericulata L.), Potentilla alba (Potentilla alba L.) and ginseng (Panax L.). The results showed that the extracts can be used for the production of pharmaceuticals and biologically active additives with antitumor, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties.

The mitochondrial population is heterogeneous in eukaryotic cells. The heterogeneity of mitochondria can be defined as a variation in certain characteristics of mitochondria within the same or different cells. Differences between mitochondria are possible to classify as nongenetic (structural, morphological, and bioenergetic features) or genetic (differences in mtDNA copy number or sequence). Changes in mtDNA sequence are reflected in the phenomenon of heteroplasmy, which is the presence of several mitochondrial genotypes in a cell or an organism. The review considers the features of the organization and dynamics of the chondriome in plant cells compared with cells of other taxonomic groups of organisms. Particular attention is paid to the factors and mechanisms that lead to mitochondrial heterogeneity, heteroplasmy in plants, possible functional specialization of mitochondria, and the role of these processes in the whole organism. A great number of data indicate that the heterogeneous state of mitochondria in the cell is due, among other factors, to the species-specific features of the mitochondrial dynamics processes that are responsible for the homogeneity of the mitochondrial population.

A brief review of current data on the molecular biology of stem cells forming meristems and differentiating into various organs of angiosperms is presented. Different primary and secondary meristems are compared. The interactions of some hormones, regulatory gene networks, and signaling pathways in different types of meristems are described.