Biotechnological methods are widely used in modern common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) studies, constitute an effective tool to create the best agronomic traits of the crop, and can also be used to breed forms, resistant to heavy metal ion toxicity, which is important in the environment of constantly growing anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems. The studied high concentrations of zinc salts (808-1313 mg L-1) in the nutrient medium in vitro had an inhibitory effect on buckwheat, which was manifested by a decrease in values of its morphological indicators. Ion stress had an adverse effect on 7-9% of plants from their total number, indicating high plasticity and resistance of F. esculentum to highly toxic doses of zinc. The stress state of F. esculentum significantly increases the production of flavonoid compounds, including rutin, in plant cells, which is used in biotechnology to assess and obtain buckwheat forms of high flavonoid induction capacity. The processes of rutin biosynthesis were most intense in test-tube plants of the Izumrud × Inzerskaya hybrid obtained after exposure to high doses of zinc 1010-1212 mg L-1. F. esculentum genotypes obtained using selective backgrounds with high zinc concentrations are promising biosystems for synthesis of rutin, valuable for pharmacology and medicine.
Keywords: Fagopyrum esculentum; in vitro; morphological indicators; regenerant; selective media; stress resistance; zinc.