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The goal of this research is to test breeding material of different geographical origin, and material that is adapted to different agro-climatic regions. This research examines how different wheat genotypes behave in the climatic conditions of the Pannonian Plain, where environmental stress occur more and more frequently. Fifteen divergent wheat genotypes were evaluated for grain yield, heading time and yield components (spike length, grain weight per spike and plant height) across seasons 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. By applying the ANOVA model, significant differences between tested traits were recorded among the analyzed genotypes. Among the genotypes there was a variability that ranged widely for all tested traits. The coefficient of variation ranged from 5.48% for plant height to 41.03% for grain weight per spike. Correlation analysis showed strong positive relationships between grain yield and grain weight per spike (r=0.87), as well as between plant height and heading time (r=0.65). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was also applied in order to determine the differences between wheat genotypes. This yield marker study, which was carried out in the Western Balkans, could be very valuable in providing breeders with the information they need to evaluate their breeding programs.

Epigenetic modifications play a vital role in the preservation of genome integrity and in the regulation of gene expression. DNA methylation, one of the key mechanisms of epigenetic control, impacts growth, development, stress response and adaptability of all organisms, including plants. The detection of DNA methylation marks is crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying these processes and for developing strategies to improve productivity and stress resistance of crop plants. There are different methods for detecting plant DNA methylation, such as bisulfite sequencing, methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism, genome-wide DNA methylation analysis, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, MS and immuno-based techniques. These profiling approaches vary in many aspects, including DNA input, resolution, genomic region coverage, and bioinformatics analysis. Selecting an appropriate methylation screening approach requires an understanding of all these techniques. This review provides an overview of DNA methylation profiling methods in crop plants, along with comparisons of the efficacy of these techniques between model and crop plants. The strengths and limitations of each methodological approach are outlined, and the importance of considering both technical and biological factors are highlighted. Additionally, methods for modulating DNA methylation in model and crop species are presented. Overall, this review will assist scientists in making informed decisions when selecting an appropriate DNA methylation profiling method.

Climate change projections for the 21st century pose great threats to semi-arid regions, impacting seed production and the quality of sunflowers. Crop yields are negatively affected by climate variability, especially in the event of droughts during the crucial growth stages. Understanding the relationships between agrometeorological, genetic, and agronomic factors is crucial for maintaining crop sustainability. Optimal sowing dates are an essential condition for maximizing crop genetic potential, but challenges come from annual weather variations. This study analyzes how sunflower genotypes respond to different sowing dates under climate change and focuses on the conditions for obtaining maximum seed yields and favorable agronomic traits. From 2020 to 2022, the experiment featured six genotypes sown across four different dates at two-week intervals, simulating seed sunflower production. The results obtained by ANOVA indicated that the seed yield and oil yield were significantly affected by the sowing date, the genotype, and their interaction, with coefficients of variation ranging from 7.6% for oil yield to 41.1% for seed yield. Besides seed yield and oil yield, LDA biplot and Discriminant Functions confirmed that seed germination energy also played a significant role in separating genotypes into clusters. A Visual Mixed Model showed that shifting the optimal sowing date (mid-April) to early May allows a reduction in the number of days the plants spend in critical growth stages, thereby escaping stressful conditions during pollination and seed filling. The findings resulted, on average, in increased yields and improved seed quality, which are the primary goals of seed production, but not in increased 1000-seed weight. Notably, high temperatures during the critical sunflower growth stages negatively affected the measured parameters of seed production. The increased precipitation during seed filling boosted the 1000-seed mass and seed yield. Extended flowering reduced the growth rate and seed germination, but longer seed filling increased the 1000-seed mass and seed yield. Our future breeding goals will be to create genotypes with a shorter flowering period and an extended seed-filling period to better respond to climate change.

Camelina (Camelina sativa [L.] Crtz.) is an oilseed crop of the Brassicaceae family. It represents revived crops, which was reintroduced to contribute in diversification of the used crops. Field trials were set in a total of five different locations across four years in which in Serbia (2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019) and in Austria (2016/2017). In all samples, 12 different environments were processed. Analysis of the distributions of environments for oil content, which mirrored protein content, using the PCA analysis, shows a statistical significance of the first two main components, which participated in the phenotypic variation with a larger amount to additive component and with both axes having a statistically significant effect on the interaction. The first two main components jointly explained more than 80% of the variation in two traits. The statistical significance of the remainder is a consequence of an agronomically explicable variation. The genotypes NS Zlatka and NS Slatka, used in this study, come from elite breeding material that is engineered to provide a consistent return to the producer regardless of the amount of money invested in primary agricultural production. Incorporating these varieties into the crop rotation would broaden the range of species available in Balkan agriculture.

Epigenetics has emerged as an important research field for crop improvement under the on-going climatic changes. Heritable epigenetic changes can arise independently of DNA sequence alterations and have been associated with altered gene expression and transmitted phenotypic variation. By modulating plant development and physiological responses to environmental conditions, epigenetic diversity—naturally, genetically, chemically, or environmentally induced—can help optimise crop traits in an era challenged by global climate change. Beyond DNA sequence variation, the epigenetic modifications may contribute to breeding by providing useful markers and allowing the use of epigenome diversity to predict plant performance and increase final crop production. Given the difficulties in transferring the knowledge of the epigenetic mechanisms from model plants to crops, various strategies have emerged. Among those strategies are modelling frameworks dedicated to predicting epigenetically controlled-adaptive traits, the use of epigenetics for in vitro regeneration to accelerate crop breeding, and changes of specific epigenetic marks that modulate gene expression of traits of interest. The key challenge that agriculture faces in the 21st century is to increase crop production by speeding up the breeding of resilient crop species. Therefore, epigenetics provides fundamental molecular information with potential direct applications in crop enhancement, tolerance, and adaptation within the context of climate change.

Although epigenetic modifications have been intensely investigated over the last decade due to their role in crop adaptation to rapid climate change, it is unclear which epigenetic changes are heritable and therefore transmitted to their progeny. The identification of epigenetic marks that are transmitted to the next generations is of primary importance for their use in breeding and for the development of new cultivars with a broad-spectrum of tolerance/resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this review, we discuss general aspects of plant responses to environmental stresses and provide an overview of recent findings on the role of transgenerational epigenetic modifications in crops. In addition, we take the opportunity to describe the aims of EPI-CATCH, an international COST action consortium composed by researchers from 28 countries. The aim of this COST action launched in 2020 is: (1) to define standardized pipelines and methods used in the study of epigenetic mechanisms in plants, (2) update, share, and exchange findings in epigenetic responses to environmental stresses in plants, (3) develop new concepts and frontiers in plant epigenetics and epigenomics, (4) enhance dissemination, communication, and transfer of knowledge in plant epigenetics and epigenomics.

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is one of the oldest oilseed crops in Europe. Over the last twenty years, it has reemerged as a very promising alternative oilseed crop. Camelina has broad environmental adaptability, a wide range of resistances to pests and diseases, low-input requirements, and multiple industrial and feed applications exist for its seed oil and meal. In a multi-environment study conducted in Serbia, seven yield-related traits, including plant height (PH), height to the first branch (HFB), number of lateral branches (NLB), number of seed capsules per plant (NSCP), number of seeds per plant (NSP), mass of seeds per plant (MSP), and the total percentage of oil in the seed (TPOS), were analyzed in 20 spring camelina accessions. The combination of two years, two locations, and two sowing dates (autumn and spring) resulted in eight different environments across which the performance of the accessions was evaluated. The aims of the study were (a) to provide a phenotypic characterization and performance evaluation of the camelina accessions, (b) to identify correlations between the selected traits, and (c) to determine the effect of environmental factors on the traits. Environments contributed to the largest proportion in the total variance, explaining approximately 90% of the variance for all traits, except for NLB (70.96%) and TPOS (42.56%). The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model (AMMI) showed that the weather conditions, and seeding dates were the most influential environmental factor. Location had a minor to moderate effect on the investigated traits. Lines CK3X-7 and Maksimir had the highest seed yields, and CK2X–9 and CJ11X–43 had the highest seed oil contents. All four lines had good adaptability and yield stability, making them the most suitable candidates for cultivation in the environmental conditions of Serbia in southeastern Europe. The present results reveal a potential for developing higher-yielding camelina cultivars with increased seed oil content and improved adaptability to various environmental conditions.

The paper discusses the personal and political relations between the French surrealist poet Paul Éluard and Serbian writers and intellectuals, first of all Marko Ristić, a theorist and one of the founders of the Serbian surrealist movement. We will show the reception of Éluard’s works in the Serbian cultural space, his visit to Yugoslavia, then Éluard’s activities in Paris related to Yugoslav politics. One significant part of the article represents, until now, unpublished archival documents that testify to the friendship between Éluard and Ristić. We will try to explain how this friendship ended after the Cominform Resolution in 1948 and what consequences it had on Serbian and French culture.