Scots pine in different ecological conditions in the south of the Central Black Earth region: features of the genetic structure of the glutamate dehydrogenase locus

A comparative analysis of two Scots pine plantations growing in different ecological conditions of the steppe zone in the south of the Central Black Earth region (Kantemirovsky District of the Voronezh Region) has been carried out. One plantation is located in a relatively ecologically clean area, outside the urban environment, the other one – within the village Kantemirovka. The enzyme system has been studied; it is an important link in the main metabolic pathways in plant organisms influencing the general condition of plants. In the studied stands the genetic structure of the glutamate dehydrogenase locus has been analyzed, one of the alleles of which (Gdh-1¹) in Scots pine is an embryonic semi-metal. It has been found that in a weakened plantation located in an urban environment and exposed to increased anthropogenic impact, the proportion of this allele and the proportion of genotypes homozygous for it is significantly (p < 0,01) higher than in the population from an ecologically clean zone. It is known that organisms with semi-lethal genes in their genotype possess a complex of compensatory genes, which determines their increased resistance to unfavorable factors. An increase in the proportion of semi-lethal alleles in a plantation growing under anthropogenic load can be an adaptive mechanism for increasing resistance at the population level to stress effects of different nature.