S25 - Session P2 - Biochemical trait collections of VIR MAPs

Authors: Kurina Anastasia *, Solovyeva A.E.Zheleznova K.O.

Organization, study and use of different trait collections is the most effective way of collections structuring, preserving the genetic diversity of the gene pool and expanding the used range of variability of plant material for the modern directions in breeding. The VIR world collection of aromatic and medicinal plants includes about 4500 accessions from 90 countries of various status, which belong to 19 families, 71 genera and 170 species. The most widely represented families are Lamiaceae (27%), Asteraceae (15%), Polygonaceae (14%), Apiaceae (11%), and Brassicaceae (10%). The purpose of our work is the formation of trait collections of medicinal and aromatic plants according to important components of the chemical composition: pigments, phenolic compounds, essential oils and sugars. The material was accessions from the VIR collection of basil (50 accessions), mint (30 acc.), chrysanthemum (7 acc.), garden cress (70 acc.) and arugula (15 acc.), different in morphological, phenological and economic traits. Biochemical analysis of samples was carried out by GC-MS. It was revealed that the limits of variability of the accumulation of chemicals are very large. For example, the content of anthocyanins in basil was in the range of 4.0-4922.3 mg/100 g FW, and the total chlorophylls was 31.6-192.1 mg/100 g FW. The total content of essential oil in mint accessions was 0.1-1.0% FW. As a result, we determined the limits of variability of the content of chlorophylls in garden cress (56.5-510.9 mg/100 g FW) and arugula (37.1-123.2 mg/100 g FW), carotenoids (12.1-110.2 mg/100 g and 14.3-63.8 mg/100 g FW), carotenes (2.27-9.83 mg/100 g and 3.67-9.53 mg/100 g FW) and anthocyanins (3.9 -54.1 mg/100 g and 4.5-163.3 mg/100 g FW) under different growing conditions. The patterns of pigment accumulation depending on the type and growing conditions were revealed. The investigation of the degree of variation regarding biochemical traits revealed adaptive stable and highly variable characteristics of MAPs accessions. Such insights are crucial for the establishment and further use of trait collections. Trait collections facilitate germplasm use and contribute significantly to the preservation of genetic diversity of the gene pool.