Nikolai Vavilov Research Articles

Human-driven evolution of cultivated plants and the origin of early civilizations: The concept of Neolithic revolution in the works of Nikolai Vavilov

The concept of centers of origin of cultivated plants (crop biodiversity hotspots) developed by Nikolai Vavilov (1887-1943) is essential for understanding the origin and evolution of human civilization. Vavilov formulated the principles of Neolithic agricultural revolution and substantiated the basic patterns for the emergence of agricultural civilizations. He established that the center of speciation of the plants that have a potential for cultivation determines the origin of primary civilization. Humans actively performed the selection of plants with valuable properties, which led to the formation of new cultivated species and varieties, while the starting point for such unconsciously human-directed evolution was the presence of potentially useful traits due to the increased genetic diversity in the center of origin. The spreading of agriculturally important cultivars from the center of their origin led to the propagation of beneficial farming technologies over large areas. The establishment of human civilization resulted from the dynamic quasi-symbiotic relationship between humans and domesticated plants and animals, which human-driven evolution became an essential factor for the transformation and dynamics of human societies. In the addendum, we present archive materials on the cooperation of Nikolai Vavilov with the historians and ethnologists from the editorial board of the journal “Novy Vostok” (“Nouvel Orient”). These materials include his letters to Professor Ilya Borozdin.

The Past Is Present: Co-Evolution of Viruses and Host Resistance Within Geographic Centers of Plant Diversity.

Understanding the coevolutionary history of plants, pathogens, and disease resistance is vital for plant pathology. Here, I review Francis O. Holmes's work with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) framed by the foundational work of Nikolai Vavilov on the geographic centers of origin of plants and crop wild relatives (CWRs) and T. Harper Goodspeed's taxonomy of the genus Nicotiana. Holmes developed a hypothesis that the origin of host resistance to viruses was due to coevolution of both at a geographic center. In the 1950s, Holmes proved that genetic resistance to TMV, especially dominant R-genes, was centered in South America for Nicotiana and other solanaceous plants, including Capsicum, potato, and tomato. One seeming exception was eggplant (Solanum melongena). Not until the acceptance of plate tectonics in the 1960s and recent advances in evolutionary taxonomy did it become evident that northeast Africa was the home of eggplant CWRs, far from Holmes's geographic center for TMV-R-gene coevolution. Unbeknownst to most plant pathologists, Holmes's ideas predated those of H.H. Flor, including experimental proof of the gene-for-gene interaction, identification of R-genes, and deployment of dominant host genes to protect crop plants from virus-associated yield losses. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Phytopathology, Volume 61 is September 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Evaluating Germplasm of Cultivated Oat Species from the VIR Collection under the Russian Northwest Conditions.

Oat is one of the most widespread and important cereal crops in the global agricultural production. Searching for new high-yielding and nutritious forms continues to be relevant, especially under the global trend of climate change, when most local oat cultivars may become economically inefficient. Spring oat accessions from VIR collection served as the material for this study; their origin is diverse, as they came from 11 countries. The basic nutritional value (the content of protein, oil, starch, and β-glucans) and characters important for breeding (plant height, panicle length, number of spikelets, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight, and grain yield) were analyzed in 49 accessions of the cultivated covered oat species: Avena sativa L., A. strigosa Schreb., A. abyssinica Hochst., and A. byzantina Coch., grown under the conditions of the Russian Northwest (Leningrad Province) for two years. Variability parameters, interspecific and intervarietal differences, and the effect of weather conditions were assessed. Sources of useful agronomic traits were identified; they can be used to expand the range of the source material for the development of new high-yielding and highly nutritious oat cultivars adapted to local cultivation conditions. It is demonstrated that the VIR collection has a great potential for contemporary food and feed production and for the breeding of new oat cultivars for various purposes. Thus, the contribution of Nikolai Vavilov to the plant genetic resources investigation for the benefit of humanity is invaluable.

Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: A Synopsis of Coordinated National Crop Wild Relative Seed Collecting Programs across Five Continents.

The Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change Project set out to improve the diversity, quantity, and accessibility of germplasm collections of crop wild relatives (CWR). Between 2013 and 2018, partners in 25 countries, heirs to the globetrotting legacy of Nikolai Vavilov, undertook seed collecting expeditions targeting CWR of 28 crops of global significance for agriculture. Here, we describe the implementation of the 25 national collecting programs and present the key results. A total of 4587 unique seed samples from at least 355 CWR taxa were collected, conserved ex situ, safety duplicated in national and international genebanks, and made available through the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty). Collections of CWR were made for all 28 targeted crops. Potato and eggplant were the most collected genepools, although the greatest number of primary genepool collections were made for rice. Overall, alfalfa, Bambara groundnut, grass pea and wheat were the genepools for which targets were best achieved. Several of the newly collected samples have already been used in pre-breeding programs to adapt crops to future challenges.

Plant Introduction Bureau of the Institute of Plant Industry and its relations with France in the 1920–1930s (based on the documents from the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation of St. Petersburg)

This article examines French–Soviet scientific cooperation focusing on the example of interactions between the Plant Introduction Bureau of the Institute of Plant Industry and French seed production companies. Objectives of the Bureau and the scope of its plant introduction activities are shown. Despite the importance of the Plant Introduction Bureau, its work encountered a number of obstacles. For example, the seed exchange was impeded by organizational problems, such as the neglect of delivery terms by the USSR Trade Office in France or by transport companies, and by financial constraints. There were also ideological conflicts, initiated by A. K. Kol and later by G. N. Shlykov, the heads of the Plant Introduction Bureau. Moreover, scientific links between the USSR and France were aggravated by the political situation in the world, where the USSR and France could not be regarded as allies. Despite these problems, the period from 1926 through 1933, when Nikolai Vavilov was Director of the Institute of Plant Industry, is considered the most productive in terms of cooper cooperation between the Plant Introduction Bureau and French seed production companies.

The pushback against state interference in science: how Lysenkoism tried to suppress Genetics and how it was eventually defeated.

Genetics in the Soviet Union (USSR) achieved state-of-the-art results and had reached a peak of development by the mid-1930s due to the efforts of the scientific schools of several major figures, including Sergei Navashin, Nikolai Koltsov, Grigorii Levitsky, Yuri Filipchenko, Nikolai Vavilov, and Solomon Levit. Unfortunately, the Soviet government distrusted intellectually independent science and this led to state support for a fraudulent pseudoscientific concept widely known as Lysenkoism, which hugely damaged biology as a whole. Decades of dominance of the Lysenkoism had ruinous effects and the revival of biology in the USSR in the late 1950s-early 1960s was very difficult. In fact, this was realized to be a problem for Soviet science as a whole, and many mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and other scientists made efforts to rehabilitate genetics and to transfer biology to the "jurisdiction" of science from that of politics. The key events in the history of these attempts to pushback against state interference in science, and to promote the development of genetics and molecular biology, are described in this paper. These efforts included supportive letters to the authorities (e.g., the famous "Letter of three hundred"), (re)publishing articles and giving lectures on "forbidden" science, and organizing laboratories and departments for research in genetics and molecular biology under the cover of nuclear physics or of other projects respected by the government and Communist party leaders. The result was that major figures in the hard sciences played a major part in the revival of genetics and biology in the USSR.

The man standing on the globe

The forthcoming 134th birthday of Nikolai Vavilov has in spired the editors to publish the essay The Man Standing on the Globe written by Dr. Margarita Vishnyakova as the intro ductory article to the Spanish translation of Vavilov’s Five Continents ( Cinco continentes ). This book was published in 2015 by Libros del Jata S.L. , a small publishing company in Bilbao, Spain. Margarita Vishnyakova was directly involved in the process of publication. She was acquainted with Dr. Gustavo Renobales, a former professor of botany at the University of the Basque Country, who became the book’s editor and publisher. As soon as the publishing process was initiated, Gustavo sought Margarita’s aid. She helped to overcome formalities associated with copyright and assisted with translation and selection of illustrations, also contributing to the solution of some botanical and linguistic problems (Vishnyakova, 2017). It took two years to finalize the publication. This essay was published only in Spanish. The original Russian version is presented here.

Physiological, biochemical and genetic bases of amaranth (Amaranthus L.) breeding for food and feed purposes (a review)

The review gives an insight into amaranth, a very promising crop for the whole world. This crop has a long history dating back to the days of the Aztecs and Incas, for whom it was one of the most important crops, along with corn. However, unlike the latter, amaranth lost its nutritional value after being introduced into Europe. Only in the 20th century, largely thanks to Nikolai Vavilov, amaranth attracted great interest as a food and feed crop. Amaranth is a plant unique in its nutritional properties. It is characterized by a high content of protein saturated with essential amino acids, especially lysine, and a large number of bioactive compounds, such as vitamin C, amaranthine, rutin, carotenoids, etc. Of particular value is grain oil saturated with various lipid compounds: squalene, vitamin E, phytosterols, and fatty acids. These lipid compounds have a number of important properties from the point of view of functional nutrition: as natural antioxidants they bind free radicals, normalize lipid metabolism, and help to decrease blood cholesterol levels. The review focuses on genes that determine the content of the main, valuable biochemical components: squalene, vitamin C, and lysine. The genetic pathways that control the biosynthesis of these components have been studied in detail in various model plant objects. The presence of the complete genomic sequence of Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. makes it possible to identify orthologs of key biosynthetic genes. At the moment, only few genes in amaranth have been identified, including the squalene synthase (SQS) gene, the VTC2 ascorbic acid synthesis gene, and the key genes for lysine synthesis – AK and DHDPS. The article discusses the prospects and trends of marker-assisted selection of this crop as well as the difficulties of its systematization and genotyping, which have to be overcome to successfully solve plant breeding problems.

Physiological, biochemical and genetic bases of amaranth (Amaranthus L.) breeding for food and feed purposes (a review)

The review gives an insight into amaranth, a very promising crop for the whole world. This crop has a long history dating back to the days of the Aztecs and Incas, for whom it was one of the most important crops, along with corn. However, unlike the latter, amaranth lost its nutritional value after being introduced into Europe. Only in the 20th century, largely thanks to Nikolai Vavilov, amaranth attracted great interest as a food and feed crop. Amaranth is a plant unique in its nutritional properties. It is characterized by a high content of protein saturated with essential amino acids, especially lysine, and a large number of bioactive compounds, such as vitamin C, amaranthine, rutin, carotenoids, etc. Of particular value is grain oil saturated with various lipid compounds: squalene, vitamin E, phytosterols, and fatty acids. These lipid compounds have a number of important properties from the point of view of functional nutrition: as natural antioxidants they bind free radicals, normalize lipid metabolism, and help to decrease blood cholesterol levels. The review focuses on genes that determine the content of the main, valuable biochemical components: squalene, vitamin C, and lysine. The genetic pathways that control the biosynthesis of these components have been studied in detail in various model plant objects. The presence of the complete genomic sequence of Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. makes it possible to identify orthologs of key biosynthetic genes. At the moment, only few genes in amaranth have been identified, including the squalene synthase (SQS) gene, the VTC2 ascorbic acid synthesis gene, and the key genes for lysine synthesis – AK and DHDPS. The article discusses the prospects and trends of marker-assisted selection of this crop as well as the difficulties of its systematization and genotyping, which have to be overcome to successfully solve plant breeding problems.

Varietal timelines and leadership challenges affecting the legacy of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov

AbstractIn 1941, Nikolai Vavilov was imprisoned just after his election as President of the International Congress on Genetics. How could a prominent Russian geneticist and plant explorer simultaneously earn distinction and animosity? This is directly answered by Stalin using Vavilov as a scapegoat for the failure of collective farming, declining yields, and continued famine. Not as apparent is that Vavilov's defamation was made easier because of four scientific and managerial challenges, not previously noted explicitly, which aided Stalin's accusations. These include: (a) clarifying the time required for crop improvement and new varieties, (b) authorizing continued support for germplasm investments that would benefit countries other than Russia alone, (c) lacking yield‐enhancing genes for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and, (d) politicizing the term of his directorship, thus detracting from its impact. Stalin exploited these challenges to demean Vavilov while advancing Trofim Lysenko, setting Russian agricultural back for 25 years. Commemorating Vavilov not only restores honor and meaning to his life but also reminds society of the central nature of agriculture, the scientific integrity required to ensure food security, and the resources required to preserve genetic diversity.

Homologous series by Nikolai Vavilov in the phylogeny of Homoptera

The paper briefly discusses the most impressive examples of the Nikolai Vavilov’s “Law of homologous series” in the evolution of one of the largest animal groups, homopterous insects, which comprise about 65,000 recent species in the world fauna. Different taxonomic and phylogenetic characters (morpho-anatomical, cytogenetic, reproductive and others) are considered at the taxonomic ranks of the order, suborder, superfamily and family.

Homologous series by Nikolai Vavilov in the phylogeny of Homoptera.

The paper briefly discusses the most impressive examples of the Nikolai Vavilov’s “Law of homologous series” in the evolution of one of the largest animal groups, homopterous insects, which comprise about 65,000 recent species in the world fauna. Different taxonomic and phylogenetic characters (morpho-anatomical, cytogenetic, reproductive and others) are considered at the taxonomic ranks of the order, suborder, superfamily and family.

Notable homologous variation in chromosomal races of the common shrew.

This paper is a review of the rare phenomenon of chromosome intraspecies variation manifested in monobrachial homology series in the comprehensively investigated karyotype of the common shrew Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758 (Eulipotyphla, Mammalia). The detailed dataset on the account of this mammalian species was drawn from the recently published monograph by Searle et al. (2019) “Shrews, Chromosomes and Speciation”. The parallels to the law of homologous series in variation by Nikolai Vavilov are discussed.

POSTCOLONIAL ECOCRITICISM IN HUNGER BY ELISE BLACKWELL

Hunger, a novella by a contemporary American novelist, Elise Blackwell, centres in the story of a Russian botanist, Nikolai Vavilov, during the Leningrad siege in 1941. Vavilov protects his collection of seeds at the Research Institute of Plant Industry in Leningrad against all odds, to be preserved for research for future use. In the recounting moments during the siege, the narrative provides parallelism between Leningrad and the ancient city of Babylon. In postcolonial writing, this can be perceived as a form of nostalgic projection of the past (Walder, 2011). Such a parallelism triggers a postcolonial narrative analysis on the pairing of the two as affinity, focusing on the significance of the comparison between the two cities (between the apocalyptic present and the glorious past). The contribution of this parallelism will be discussed to understand the novella as a narrative mode of ecocriticism, with regards to the idea of prioritizing seeds over human lives, which also acts as the steering issue stirring the plot. By mainly referring to Garrard (2004) and Huggan and Tiffin (2010) on ecocriticism and postcolonial ecocriticism, this essay in general aims to investigate how the novella contributes new perspectives on the intertwining between postcolonial studies and ecocriticism.

Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat by Robert N. Spengler III

Reviewed by: Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat by Robert N. Spengler III Martin Jones Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat. Robert N. Spengler III. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019. 392 pp., 32 b&w photos, 1 line drawing, 4 maps. Hardcover and eBook US $35, £29; Paperback US $27, £23. ISBN 9780520379268. Fruits from the Sands is an elegantly written and important book. It launches its account from the most pressing issue of life on earth today—how do we feed nine billion plus people without destroying the very ecosystems upon which we rely to provide that food? How have several millennia of food globalization led to a highly interconnected over dependence on global monocultures? Those questions take us directly to an epicentre of ancient food globalization in Central Asia, where the author has over several years made a significant contribution to primary research. That first-hand experience of research in the area allows his pen to bring the region to life, not as an exotic other, but as a thriving and productive heart of the continent. This wonderful combination of first-hand scientific knowledge, a diverse and eclectic awareness of textual sources, and an engaging writing style is reminiscent of Oliver Rackham (2006). Just as Rackham's books are taken off the shelves and dipped into for a long long time, I anticipate the same will be true of Fruits from the Sands. There is a wealth of timeless insight within, supported by a generous section of endnotes and references. Robert Spengler is a leading archaeobotanist of Central Asia, conducting primary research on physical fragments of ancient food plants recovered from archaeological excavations. The focus of much archaeobotanical research around the world has been upon the beginnings of agriculture, around one or another of the "centres of origin" first identified around a century ago by the pioneer crop geneticist Nikolai Vavilov (1926). Spengler's own focus, and the theme of this book, relates to a subsequent episode when crops moved between the Old World centres of origin some millennia after their original domestication, it is presumed through processes of migration, exchange, and trade. This led to a state of "food globalization" in which economic plants initially from the west and the east, the north and the south, were brought together within the same agricultural and culinary systems, a pattern that was widely in place by the end of prehistory. Economic species originally from China were to be found in Europe and from Southwest Asia in China. Asian crops reached sub-Saharan Africa and crops from each of these geographic regions arrived to enrich South Asian food-ways in the Indus Valley. Both the title and the cover image draw attention to one potential agent—the exotic journeys of merchant caravans across the arid Asian sands in pursuit of Silk Road trade. The text within reveals a richer, older story underpinning that transcontinental contact. Up in the foothills of the Tianshan mountains, in the very heart of Asia, Spengler has been working with archaeologist Michael Frachetti on early sites from a time when life existed in an environment very different from that of the arid sands shown in the foreground of this book's cover image. High mountain streams kept the foothills grassy and animals could [End Page 213] graze. There, herders could plant small plots with hardy grain. At sites like Begash in Kazakhstan, these small-scale herders were exchanging seedcorn with their neighbours, so they were able to consume crops from both east and west Eurasia. What is more, this was taking place a full two thousand years before a series of merchants and armies were accompanied by the creators and narrators of a more prominent and familiar history. All this puts Spengler in an excellent position to review and interrogate the familiar traditional story of Silk Road trade and look back in time through his keen archaeobotanical eye to that history's long prelude. He brings his own expertise and an engaging writing style to the task. Part One offers insight into the region whose history and archaeobotany the author knows...

The Law of Homologous Series in Variation by Nikolai Vavilov

The Law of Homologous Series in Variation by Nikolai Vavilov

Lysenkoism Against Genetics: The Meeting of the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences of August 1948, Its Background, Causes, and Aftermath.

Progress in genetics and evolutionary biology in the young Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was hindered in the 1930s by the agronomist Trofim Lysenko, who believed that acquired traits are inherited, claimed that heredity can be changed by "educating" plants, and denied the existence of genes. Lysenko was supported by Communist Party elites. Lysenko termed his set of ideas and agricultural techniques "Michurinism," after the name of the plant breeder Ivan Michurin, but they are currently known as Lysenkoism. Although Michurinism opposed biological science, Lysenko took up one academic position after another. In 1929, Nikolai Vavilov founded the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences and became its head; it directed the development of sciences underpinning plant and animal breeding in the Soviet Union. Vavilov was dismissed in 1935 and later died in prison, while Lysenko occupied his position. The triumph of Lysenkoism became complete and genetics was fully defeated in August 1948 at a session of the academy headed by Lysenko. The session was personally directed by Joseph Stalin and marked the USSR's commitment to developing a national science, separated from the global scientific community. As a result, substantial losses occurred in Soviet agriculture, genetics, evolutionary theory, and molecular biology, and the transmission of scientific values and traditions between generations was interrupted. This article reviews the ideological, political, economic, social, cultural, personal, moral, and ethical factors that influenced the August 1948 session, and its immediate and later consequences. We also outline current attempts to revise the role of the August session and whitewash Lysenko.

“The Difference Between No. 1 1928 and No. 1 1930 Is Great Indeed.”

This article chronicles the correspondence between Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) and his colleagues in the USSR in the years following his arrival in the United States on what was to have been a one-year fellowship working in the laboratory of T.H. Morgan at Columbia University. These letters chronicle a period during which Dobzhansky not only realized the enormous potential of Drosophila genetics for unlocking the secrets of evolution, but also that con­tinuing this research would require finding a way to remain in the United States longer than either the Soviet Academy of Sciences, or the Rockefeller Foundation, would allow. Dobzhansky’s exchanges during this period with mentors such as Yuri Filipchenko and Nikolai Vavilov, as well as fellow students and colleagues such as Nikolai Medvedev, highlight the precarious game Dobzhansky played as he attempted to appear eager to return to his homeland, while secretly maneuvering to delay it. By the time it was over Filipchenko would die an early death of meningitis and Vavilov—who had originally been urging Dobzhansky to return and contribute to development of genetics in Russia—would now advise him to remain in the USA. Dobzhansky was nearly forced to return to the USSR after a routine trip to Canada to renew his visa, an outcome that would surely have resulted in imprisonment or worse. In the end he was allowed to stay, however Dobzhansky’s defection was so resented by the Soviet regime that even decades later he would remain an “un-person” in his homeland, whose name and contributions were never officially acknowledged during his lifetime, and his attempts at reconciliation were rejected.

Russian scientists and the Royal Society of London: 350 years of scientific collaboration

This paper examines the dynamics of the honorary membership of Russian scientists at the Royal Society over a 350-year period. Using several outstanding Russian scientists as examples (Dmitrii Mendeleev, Il'ya Metschnikoff, Ivan Pavlov and Nikolai Vavilov), we will demonstrate how a combination of cultural and political factors influenced the dynamics of memberships. Furthermore, we explain how their memberships of the Royal Society influenced their scientific careers.

Exploring the nature of science through courage and purpose: a case study of Nikolai Vavilov and plant biodiversity.

IntroductionHistorical biographies facilitate teaching the ‘nature of science’. This case study focuses on how Nikolai Vavilov’s unrelenting sense of purpose, courage, and charismatic personality was maintained during violent revolutionary change in Russia.Case descriptionThe rediscovery of Gregor Mendel’s laws of inheritance provided Vavilov with a scientific foundation for crop improvement, this foundation was later bolstered by Vavilov’s personal drive to conserve plant biodiversity. As he advanced theories and pragmatic approaches for genetic improvement and conservation of plants, political leaders in Russian came to reject Mendel’s principles and eventually Vavilov’s work.Discussion and evaluationThis rejection occurred because Joseph Stalin was desperate for a quick remedy to the famine and suffering from forced collective agriculture. Vavilov’s work continued, modernizing Russian crop research while inspiring other scientists to save seeds stored in the world’s first gene bank. Three themes illustrating the nature of science help examine Vavilov’s life: explaining natural phenomena, uncompromising human endeavor, and revising scientific knowledge.ConclusionsThe case study concludes with four questions to stimulate student inquiry and self-guided research. They also deepen student understanding of Vavilov’s personal sacrifices to ensure use and conservation of plant biodiversity.