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Influence of brassinosteroids on the resistance of plant component of natural ecosystems


Work number - M 54 AWARDED

Presented by the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

 

Author: Derevyanchuk M.V.

The work consists of 11 scientific articles published within 6 years.

          The aim of the work was to elucidate the peculiarities of the action of brassinosteroids (BS) on the metabolism of cells in the plant component of natural ecosystems, aimed at increasing their resistance to stress, in particular, under conditions of salinity, establishing molecular bases for the organization of intracellular lipid signaling systems, regulating the transport of electrons in the electron transport chain of mitochondria in the process of realization of biological action of BS in plant cells, under optimal conditions and under the influence of abiotic stressors on the plant component of natural ecosystems.

          The ability of BS to induce protective mechanisms of plants in combination with low biologically active hormone concentrations (10-7 - 10-9 m) makes them promising for reducing the impact of anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems.

          Mechanisms underlying the ability of the BS to increase the resistance of the plant component of ecosystems to salt stress were studied using modern approaches and research methods, in particular, the involvement of BS in stimulation of seed germination, growth and improvement of morphometric parameters of plants under salinity conditions, which was accompanied by induction of synthesis of a number of stress proteins and stabilization of the functioning of intracellular organelles. The role of lipid signals transduction in the realization of biological action of BS is determined. A thorough research work was carried out and original results were obtained in vivo on the peculiarities of the regulation of the functioning of mitochondria by brassinosteroids (regulation of the activity of the alternative pathway of electron transport), which are one of the main energy-generating compartment of cells. New approaches have been proposed using bioinformatics methods to identify possible molecular chaperones that are involved in supporting homeostasis of organelles.

          The results of the work are important for understanding of the mechanisms during realization the biological action of BS and their practical application in modern technologies of growing crops, including in risky farming zones and aimed at significant increase of the economic effect of agricultural production, decrease of pesticide impact on natural ecosystems of the environment.

          The results of the research are presented in 30 publications, including 11 articles in refereed journals. The total citation index (h-index) is more than 2.0 according to the Scopus databases. The total impact factor of scientific publications is 10.62. The total number of citations according to Google Scholar databases is 29.