About the Department:

 

The Department consists of two laboratories: Laboratory of Plant Tissue Culture and Laboratory of Plant Physiology. The study includes problems connected to the optimization of the growth and development of plants from the families CaryophyllaceaeAsteraceae, Fabaceae, and Linaceae. The aim of the study is to obtain different types of plant tissue cultures, which can be the material for further study of plant secondary metabolites and for the examination of plant responses to various elicitors. The research of various plant response to abiotic stress factors is carried out in the Laboratory of Plant Physiology. Among others, the goal is to understand the mechanisms of plant adaptation to heavy metal stress including processes resembling PCD in plants and algae.

 

The detailed study focuses on:

  • Plant response to abiotic and biotic stressors at the biochemical and molecular level.
  • Plant bioactive substances - their role in plants and their effect on animals.
  • Plant tissue cultures and their application in biotechnology.
  • The influence of plant hormones on plant defense response.
  • Lignan biosynthesis pathways in flax (Linum usitatissimum).
  • Health benefits of lignans.
  • The impact of biotic and abiotic factors on freshwater algae growth and development.
  • Toxicity of heavy metals and the elements of programmed cell death (PCD) in higher plants and unicellular algae.
  • Taxonomy of euglenophytes