GENETIC VARIATION OF BTC1 GENE IN BETA VULGARIS L.

Early flowering of sugar beet plants in the first year of vegetation significantly reduces the productivity of the crop. Therefore, the study and molecular genetic selection of the source material resistant to boltering is relevant. To study the gene that controls the flowering time of sugar beet, leaf blades of domestic supporting lines (O-type) and foreign hybrids selected in the field where this trait was manifested were used. When carrying out the polymerase chain reaction in the experiments, a specific pair of primers F9/R9 was used. Processing of sequencing results and comparative analysis was carried out in the program Geneious Prime. This paper presents the results of studying the BTC1 gene (bolting time control 1), which regulates the flowering process of Beta vulgaris L. Control occurs through the regulation of the activity of two genes belonging to the FT family: an inhibitor (Flowering Time 1) and an activator (Flowering Time 2) of the physiological process – flowering. In genotypes susceptible to flowering, new single nucleotide substitutions in exon 10 were found in the BTC1 gene, initiating substitutions in the amino acid composition of the polypeptide chain, which ultimately leads to the expression of a functionally different protein. The presence of certain SNPs in the BTC1 gene of sugar beet makes it possible with a high degree of probability to characterize certain genotypes as sensitive to early flowering. The experimental data obtained make it possible to select genotypes resistant to early flowering at the early stages of the breeding process. Knowledge about the genetic nature of early flowering is significant when using Beta vulgaris culture in different geographical zones.