Gederts IEVINSH

ievins.jpg (7677 bytes) Dr.habil.biol. Gederts IEVINSH

Head of the Department of Plant Physiology,
Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia
4 Kronvalda Blv., LV 1586 Riga,
Latvia
Phone: +371 67034864
Fax:     +371 69481961
E-mail: gederts.ievins@lu.lv

Senior Researcher, Head of the Department of Plant Physiology
Institute of Biology, University of Latvia
3 Miera Str., LV 2169 Salaspils, Latvia

Phone: +371 67945423
Fax:     +371 69345412

Born: June 30, 1960, Riga, Latvia

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Brief Description of Main Research:

The major restraints on plant growth and productivity are unfavourable environmental conditions that usually are represented either by environmental pollution or by global climate changes. These conditions may alter a range of plant processes occurring at the biochemical, cellular, molecular, morphological, and physiological levels depending upon the duration and the extent of the stress. It is especially challenging to identify the stress responses that might be exploited to improve plant stress tolerance. The research of Dr. Gederts Ievinsh aims at further understanding of biochemical and molecular mechanisms that provide plant development in variable environmental conditions and affect stress tolerance. The objective of investigations at the present point is to increase knowledge about the defence system against oxidative stress in plant cells, its organization, localization and structure, and its mechanisms of responses to environmental variables and its regulation. Experimental work on evaluation of biochemical and molecular basis of stress tolerance in potato tissue culture and investigation of induction and regulation of antioxidative responses in pine needles in relation to stress tolerance are based on a hypothesis that a capacity to induce high activity of antioxidative system as a result of stress is related to plant stress tolerance. As ascorbate peroxidase has a central role in antioxidative protection in plants and ethylene may be suggested as a potent regulator of stress adaptation responses, the research is focused on investigation of biochemical and molecular aspects of relationship between ascorbate peroxidase and ethylene.

Ongoing tasks include: (i) isolation of stress responses related to general stress tolerance; (ii) characterization of changes of expression, activity and localization of antioxidative enzymes during stress response; (iii) investigation of factors regulating ascorbate peroxidase gene expression and activity under the effect of environmental stress; (iv) construction of transgenic plants over- and underproducing ascorbate peroxidase and characterization of them; analysis of antioxidative responses in plants with genetically altered intensity of ethylene biosynthesis; (v) finding of insect-specific signalling pathways in plants in comparison to wound-induced signalling; (vi) searching for local and systemic metabolic changes in plants (antioxidative stress reactions and wound-response proteins) due to insect-specific signalig systems.

Languages: English, Russian, Latvian

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Last update 26.02.2008