ELENA GRIGOR’EVNA MININA - OUTSTANDING RESEARCHER OF SEX AND SEXUAL REPRODUCTION OF FOREST TREE SPECIES (to 120 years of birthday)
I. N. Tret’yakova
V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Federal Research Center Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
Keywords: Elena Grigorevna Minina, conifers, sex, sexual reproduction, phytohormones, gravity
Abstract
Article analyzes scientific achievements and heritage of Elena Grigor’evna Minina - famous Russian scientist, biologist, plant physiologist (24.04.1903 - 01.04.1989). Being an outstanding researcher in many fields of reproductive biology and plant physiology, E. G. Minina created the doctrine of sex determination and sexual reproduction in plants and the influence of phytohormones on the processes of sexualization. She considered the course of the processes of sexualization as a complex chain of chemical transformations, primarily the redox system and hormonal regulation. Elena Grigor’evna determined the directions of the studies under environmental stress, laid the foundations for studying the patterns of morphogenesis, sexual transformations in woody plants. She was the first to describe sexual transformations in the Siberian stone pine ( Pinus sibirica Du Tour) trees with acceleration of the reproductive cycle. These forms show signs of apomixis, characteristic of thriving angiosperms. Much attention in Elena Grigor’evna’s research was paid to elucidating the role of gravity in the processes of growth, formation and seed-bearing in coniferous plants. The criterion of the initial stage of atmospheric pollution, in her opinion, may be the direction of growth of lateral shoots. She is particularly interested in the problems of evolutionary physiology and reproductive biology of plants, provides schemes of phylogenetic relationships in the evolutionary development of angiosperms and gymnosperms. The level of evolutionary advancement of taxa and individuals within the species, in her opinion, is manifested in the intensity of photosynthesis, carbohydrate-nitrogen metabolism, biosynthesis of gibberellins and growth processes. According to Elena Grigor’evna’s teaching, a biotechnology of somatic embryogenesis of coniferous species is being developed, in which somatic cells in in vitro culture switch to the path of embryonic development, forming numerous embryos and plants with selectively significant traits. The list of the main scientific publications and the list of dissertations defended under his supervision is given.
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