Sweet potato is one of the most economically important crops for addressing global food security and climate change issues, especially under conditions of extensive agriculture, such as those found in developing countries. However, osmotic stress negatively impacts the agronomic and economic productivity of sweet potato cultivation by inducing several morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. Plants employ many signaling pathways to respond to water stress by modifying their growth patterns, activating antioxidants, accumulating suitable solutes and chaperones, and making stress proteins. These physiological, metabolic, and genetic modifications can be employed as the best indicators for choosing drought-tolerant genotypes. The main objective of sweet potato breeding in many regions of the world, especially those affected by drought, is to obtain varieties that combine drought tolerance with high yields. In this regard, the study of the physiological and biochemical features of certain varieties is important for the implementation of drought resistance measures. Adapted genotypes can be selected and improved for particular growing conditions by using suitable tools and drought tolerance-related selection criteria. By regulating genetics in this way, the creation of drought-resistant varieties may become cost-effective for smallholder farmers. This review focuses on the drought tolerance mechanisms of sweet potato, the effects of drought stress on its productivity, its crop management strategies for drought mitigation, traditional and molecular sweet potato breeding methods for drought tolerance, and the use of biotechnological methods to increase the tolerance of sweet potato to drought.

Doubled haploids (DH) were obtained from two interspecific hybrids between Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. Seeds of doubled haploid plants differed in colour and size. The hybridity of the obtained doubled haploid is shown using genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) analysis. Evaluation of drought tolerance during seed germination on PEG-6000 showed the advantage of doubled haploid plants of interspecific hybrids over the parent cultivars. The oil from seeds of doubled haploid plants showed good nutritional value.

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One of the most serious problems worldwide is heavy metal (HM) pollution. HMs can have a toxic effect on human health and thus cause serious diseases. To date, several methods have been used to clean environments contaminated by HMs, but most of them are expensive, and it is difficult to achieve the desired result. Phytoremediation is currently an effective and affordable processing solution used to clean and remove HMs from the environment. This review article discusses in detail the technology of phytoremediation and mechanisms of HM absorption. In addition, methods are described using genetic engineering of various plants to enhance the resistance and accumulation of HMs. Thus, phytoremediation technology can become an additional aid to traditional methods of purification.

The article presents the results of a study on obtaining mutant doubled haploids of turnip rape. The culture medium for producing embryos in isolated microspore culture was optimized. The optimal medium formula was NLN + 13% S + 0.05 mg/L NAA + 0.05 mg/L BA. Embryos derived from isolated microspore culture were treated with EMS mutagen in three concentrations (4 mM, 8 mM, and 12 mM). Mutant doubled haploid plants and their seeds were obtained. Agronomic evaluation and analysis of fatty acid composition in mutant lines seeds showed that they had valuable traits in terms of seed oil quality and yield. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of the seeds of the obtained mutant doubled haploids showed an increase in the percentage of oleic acid (~11%–12%) in comparison with donor cultivars. Our results showed that mutagenesis of embryos from a culture of isolated microspores has potential for improving the qualitative traits of turnip rape.