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In Slovenia there is only one species of common snowdrop ( Galanthus nivalis L.) that occurs in all four of its phytogeographical regions. Slovenia is located in the center of the distribution of this species. At some sites the subpopulations of snowdrop are common and abundant, but at other sites they may consist of only a few individuals within small populations. Galanthus nivalis occurs in a diversity of habitats and individual plants within stands are extremely variable in many of their characteristics. The purpose of this research is to determine the diversity within the species and to identify new stable variants that are interesting for horticultural purposes and use. We examined plants in populations that were the most diverse and isolated individual characteristics from them, which we then cultivated for several years and determined their stability. We found two new varieties that have a very distinctive smell, and one of the new varieties retains its outer perigone leaves completely closed at the end of flowering. The new varieties belong to three different groups: the Skirt group, the Imperial group and the Green group.

Our research aimed to investigate the primary and secondary metabolites of rosehips and petals of R. gallica in comparison with R. subcanina . R. gallica was chosen because it is still unexplored in terms of various bioactive substances and is strongly present in Slovenia. Given that roses are generally very variable and unstudied, our research will contribute to greater transparency and knowledge of the bioactive composition of rosehips and petals. We found a strong positive correlation between the total content of phenolics and ascorbic acid, between the total content of organic acids and the total content of carotenoids, and between the total content of sugars and the total content of organic acids. Hips of R. gallica contained higher amounts of sugars, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids than R. subcanina . Based on the composition of phenolic compounds in the petals, it is possible to distinguish between the two species. Among all the phenolic compounds in the petals, both genotypes are richest in gallotannins, followed by flavonols. Among anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glucoside was determined, the content of which was also higher in R. gallica . It can be concluded that the studied hips had an extremely low sugar content and, consequently, an extremely high organic acid content. The content of carotenoids in hips was in the lower range of the average content compared to data from the literature. By optimizing the harvesting time, we could obtain a higher content of carotenoids, which could potentially be used for industrial purposes. However, we found that the analyzed petals were a rich source of phenolic compounds, which benefit the human body and could be potentially used in the food and cosmetic industries.

The genus Rosa is very extensive and variable, so it remains very unpredictable and uninvestigated. This also holds true for values of secondary metabolites in rose hips, which are important for several purposes (human diet, protection of plants against pests, etc.). The aim of our study was to determine the content of phenolic compounds in the hips of R. × R. glauca , R. corymbifera , R. gallica and R. subcanina , which grow wild in nature in southwestern Slovenia. We examined the content of phenolic compounds in different parts of rose hips, in the flesh with skin and in the seeds, depending on the individual species, over a period of two years, 2020 and 2021. We also considered the influence of environmental conditions on the content of the mentioned compounds. In both years, the content of phenolic compounds was higher in the flesh with skin than in the seeds. Considering the total content of phenolic compounds in the flesh with skin, R. gallica stands out (15,767.21 mg/kg FW), but the hips of this species accumulated the lowest number of different phenolic compounds. The lowest content of total phenolic compounds (TPC) was found in R. corymbifera, in the year 2021 (3501.38 mg/kg FW). The content of TPC (in both observed years) in the seeds varied between 1263.08 mg/kg FW ( R. subcanina ) and 3247.89 mg/kg FW ( R. × R. glauca ). Among the anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glucoside was determined, which was predominant in R. gallica (28.78 mg/kg FW), and at least was determined in R. subcanina (1.13 mg/kg FW). When comparing the two years of the period (2020-2021), we found that 2021 was more favorable for the formation of phenolic compounds in the seeds, but 2020 in the flesh with skin.

The Rosa genus is characterized by great variability and, consequently, they easily hybridize. The petals of R. pendulina , R. spinosissima and their hybrid Rosa pendulina × spinosissima , collected in western Slovenia, were included in the research. We performed morphometric analysis using keys to determine roses and genetic analysis to determine the genome size. The phenolic compound content in petals of all rose flowers was measured by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Using flow cytometry, we could confirm the native hybridization process due to the amount of 2C DNA. The value of R. pendulina was 1.71 pg, of R. spinosissima 1.60 pg and of the hybrid 1.62 pg. The value for the hybrid was close to values measured for parent plants and, at the same time, those values of parent plants significantly differed from each other. Our results showed that the content of phenolic compounds in petals decreased after crossing. We found that the highest total phenolic content (178.9 g/kg FW) was measured in R. spinossisima , the lowest content was analyzed for the hybrid (84.36 g/kg FW) and the content for R. pendulina was between these two values (110.58 g/kg FW). The content of flavanols and flavonols was lowest in the hybrid petals, whereas the content of anthocyanins was highest in the hybrid petals.

Climate change poses a serious threat to agricultural production. Water deficit in agricultural soils is one of the consequences of climate change that has a negative impact on crop growth and yield. Selenium (Se) is known to be involved in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress through metabolic, structural, and physiological activity in higher plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological response of Se-biofortified soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merrill) seedlings under osmotic stress. For this research, we used biofortified soybean grain obtained after foliar Se biofortification in 2020. The experiment was conducted in a growth chamber with two cultivars (Lucija and Sonja) grown on filter paper in three replicates. The experiment was carried out with two watering treatments: distilled water (PEG-0) and 2.5% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-2.5) on Se-biofortified seeds (Se) and nonbiofortified seeds (wSe). Contents of lipid peroxidation product (LP), free proline (PRO), total phenolic content (TP), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and ascorbic acid (AA) were analyzed in 7-days-old seedlings. Significant differences were detected in the Se content of soybean grains between the two cultivars. A milder reaction to PEG-2.5 was observed in cultivar Lucija in both Se and wSe treatments, which might represent the mitigating effects of Se on osmotic stress in this cultivar. Contrarily, in cultivar Sonja, Se adversely affected all analyzed traits in the PEG-2.5 treatment. Ultimately, Se is a pro-oxidant in Sonja, whereas it represents an anti-oxidant in Lucija. In conclusion, different soybean cultivars show contrasting physiological reactions to both osmotic stress and Se. However, the activation of antioxidant pathways in Sonja can also be interpreted as added value in soybean seedlings as a functional food.