INSTITUTE
OF GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

Tel.: + 375 17 378 18 56      E-mail: office@igc.by

LABORATORY OF PLANT CYTOGENOMICS

The Institute’s subdivision specializing in genetic and cytogenetic studies of cereals was established in 1994 as the Laboratory of Grain Crops Genetics under the direction of Professor I.A. Gordey based on the merger of the Laboratories of Population Genetics (Kedrov-Zikhman, O. K.) and Experimental Mutagenesis (Volodin, V. G.). In 2005, by way of amalgamation of the Plant Cytogenetics Laboratory (Dubovets, N. I.), it was reorganized into the Plant Chromosome Engineering Laboratory. Since 2012, following the actualization of scientific directions, it has been renamed the Laboratory of Plant Cytogenomics.

The staff as of 2025:

Head of the Laboratory, PhD in Biology, Associate Professor: I.S. Gordey

Lead Research Scientist, Professor, Corresponding Member of NAS of Belarus: N.I. Dubovets

Research Scientists: O.M. Lyusikov, V.E. Shimko

Junior Research Scientists: Sokolyuk A.V., Mandrusova V.S., Matievskaya O.S., Varfolomeyeva T.E.

Main directions of scientific research:

  • Studying plant genome variability at the cytological and molecular levels;
  • Chromosome engineering of plants: transformation of plant genomes using introgressive hybridization, auto- and allopolyploidy techniques;
  • Research in the direction of the genomic selection of plants using molecular markers;
  • Certification and varietal identification of agricultural plants using DNA typing methods.

Main results:

  • A method for creating triticale with a rye type of cytoplasm – Secalotriticum – has been developed;
  • A series of studies have been conducted to examine the cytogenetic features of the formation, stabilization and structural and functional organization of the allopolyploid genome – Secalotriticum. A need to distinguish Secalotriticum as a separate subspecies of triticale has been genetically substantiated;
  • The process of microevolutionary differentiation of tetraploid cereal species by way of forming recombinant genomes (using tetraploid triticale as an example) has been studied;
  • A highly effective method for creating tetraploid rye using nitrous oxide (N2O) has been developed – the zygotic polyploidization method;
  • Cytogenetic alterations in the genome during autopolyploidization (using rye as a model) have been identified;
  • A number of Methodological Guidelines have been developed for the genomic selection of wheat, rye, triticale and oats for various valuable breeding traits (stem dwarfness, winter hardiness, resistance to germination etc.);
  • The genetic diversity of the modern gene pool of rye and oats has been studied using microsatellite markers;
  • A series of works have been conducted to develop a methodology for creating hybrid rye based on the G-type CMS system;
  • Using chromosome engineering methods, the source material gene pool for rye, Secalotriticum and oats breeding has been developed;
  • A number of cereal varieties (5 of rye, 3 of wheat and 2 of triticale) have been developed in collaboration with the Scientific and Practical Center for Arable Farming, NAS of Belarus.

Main publications:

  1. Yulia A. Lipikhina, Elena V. Evtushenko, Oleg M. Lyusikov, Igor S. Gordei, Ivan A. Gordei, and Alexander V. Vershinin Dynamics of the Centromeric Histone CENH3 Structure in Rye-Wheat Amphidiploids (Secalotriticum) // BioMed Research International, vol. 2018, Article ID 2097845, 6 pages, 2018.
  2. Gordey, I. S., Lyusikov, O. M., Gorder I. A. Molecular genetic changes during plant polyploidization (Digest) // Molecular & Applied Genetics: proceedings / Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus; Editorship: A. V. Kilchevsky (editor-in-chief) [et al.]. — Minsk: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus, 2019. – Vol. 26. – P. 158 – 173.
  3. I.S. Gordej, O.M. Lyusikov, I.A. Gordej Zygotic Autopolyploidization of Rye (Secale cereale L.) — 2019. — Cytology and Genetics. — Vol. 53, No. 5. — P. 357-362.
  4. Kaznina N., Dubovets N., Batova Y., Ignatenko A., Orlovskaya O., Repkina N. The Response of Wheat with Different Allele Statuses of the Gpc-B1 Gene under Zinc Deficiency // Agronomy. – 2021. –Vol. 11, No. 1057.
  5. Silkova O.G., Ivanova Y.N., Loginova D.B., Solovey L.A., Sycheva E.A., Dubovets N.I. Karyotype Reorganization in Wheat-Rye Hybrids Obtained via Unreduced Gametes: Is There a Limit to The Chromosome Number in Triticale? // Plants. – 2021. –Vol. 10, No. 2052.
  6. Mandrusova, V. S., Gordey, I. S., Lyusikov, O. M., Shimko, V. E., Gordey, I. A. Studying the gene pool of winter rye Secale cereale L. of the Republic of Belarus using microsatellite markers // Izvestiya of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Biological Sciences Series. – 2021. – Vol. 66, No. 2. – P. 215-222.
  7. Lyusikov, O. M., Gordey, I. S., Shimko, B. E., Matievskaya, O. S., Gordey, S. I., Satsyuk, I. V. Molecular genetic aspects of winter wheat (Tríticum L.) resistance to low-temperature stress (Digest) // Molecular & Applied Genetics: Proceedings / Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus; Editorship: A. V. Kilchevsky (editor-in-chief) [et al.]. — Minsk: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, NAS of Belarus, 2022. – Vol. 33. – P. 137 – 150.

Methodological Guidelines:

Technology for the Development of Rye-Wheat Amphidiploids with Rye Cytoplasm — Secalotriticum: Methodological Guidelines / I. A. Gordey, O. M. Lyusikov, I. S. Gordey; National Academy of Sciences of Belarus; Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus; State Scientifi­c Institution “Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.” – Minsk: Pravo & Ekonomika, 2020. – 34 p. – ISBN 978-985-552-901-0.

Taking part in Conferences (for the last 5 years):

  1. 5th International Scientific Conference “Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Plant Biotechnology” (PlantGen2019), 2019, Novosibirsk, Russia.
  2. International Scientific Conference “Genetics and Biotechnology of the 21st Century: Problems, Achievements and Prospects,” 2020, 2022, Minsk, Belarus.
  3. 5th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Biotechnology: Achievements and Prospects of Development,” 2021, Pinsk, Belarus.
  4. All-Russian International Scientific Conference “Plant Physiology and Phenomics as a Basis for Modern Phytobiotechnology,” 2022, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia.
  5. Scientific Workshop “Genomic Technologies: Practical Application (Crop Production, Animal Husbandry), 2023, Minsk, Belarus.
  6. XVII Kurchatov Youth Scientific School, 2023, Moscow, Russia.
  7. All-Russian Scientific Conference “Plant Genetic Resources for Genetic Technologies,” 2023, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Academic advising (doctoral dissertations, PhD dissertations, master’s theses, diploma theses, course papers – current and over the last 5 years):

The Laboratory is currently supervising one PhD dissertation and two Master’s theses.

Patents:

  1. Method for obtaining a form of rye with the introgression of wheat genetic material // N. B. Belko, I. A. Gordey, I. S. Gordey: Patent No. 20798, the Republic of Belarus, IPC A 01H 1/00 Aficyjny Biuleteń. Nacyjanalny Centr Intelektualnaj Ułasnaści, 2017, No. 1, p. 48.
  2. Method for determining the resistance of the triticale line Triticosecale Wittm. to grain germination in the spike // V. I. Domash, O. A. Ivanov, I. S. Gordey, I. A. Gordey, O. M. Lyusikov, T. P. Sharpio, S. A. Zabreiko: Patent No. 23279, the Republic of Belarus, IPC A 01H 1/04 Aficyjny Biuleteń. Nacyjanalny Centr Intelektualnaj Ułasnaści, 2020, No. 6, p. 38.

Awards, grants:

E.A. Sycheva, the Lead Research Scientist of the Laboratory, was awarded with the Medal of Francysk Skaryna in 2021.

N.I. Dubovets, the Chief Research Scientist of the Laboratory, was awarded with the Ignatovsky Badge of Merit in 2023.

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