On May 16, 2022, the IV International Scientific School-Conference "Cyanoprokaryotes/Cyanobacteria: systematics, ecology, distribution, use in biotechnology" began work on the basis of the Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after M. Akmulla. Earlier, the conference was held in Syktyvkar and Apatity. Every year its participants are scientists of the leading scientific and educational centers of Russia and abroad.
This year Ufa became the point of attraction for researchers. During the week, participants will discuss the current problems of studying cyanobacteria and the prospects for their use in various branches of science and production. The organizers were the Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after M. Akmulla, the Federal Research Center of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the All-Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The conference is held in a mixed format: Professor Prashant Singh from India will deliver an online report. There will also be sectional presentations, a poster session, field excursions, microscopic sessions, master classes on the determination of cyanobacteria.
The participants were welcomed by the scientific director of the Center for Scientific and Technical Integration of the BSPU named after M. Akmulla, Doctor of Biological Sciences Lyra Gaisina. She noted the importance of the conference for the project of the Akmullinsky Niversity, which is being implemented within the framework of the Eurasian Scientific and Educational Center.
"It should be noted that the event is held under the auspices of the Eurasian Scientific and Educational Center, within the framework of which the project of the BSPU named after M. Akmulla on the development of biopesticides and growth stimulators of agricultural plants based on algae and cyanobacteria is being implemented. Participation in the conference of scientists from different parts of the country and the world will contribute to the development of the project not only from the scientific, but also from the technological side," shared Lyra Albertovna.
During the plenary session of the conference, reports were presented by Ph.D. in Biology, an employee of the Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute named after N.A. Avrorin of the KNC RAS (Apatity) Denis Davydov, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Geobotany and Comparative Floristics of the Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Syktyvkar) Elena Patova and other specialists. They told about the objects of their research, their functional features. The listeners were students, undergraduates, postgraduates of the Faculty of Natural Geography of Akmulla University, as well as young scientists.
The work of the conference continued in sections in five scientific areas: flora, biogeography and ecology of cyanoprokaryotes/cyanobacteria; modern taxonomy of cyanoprokaryotes/cyanobacteria; secondary metabolites: structure, biosynthesis, physiological function, significance in nature, methods of detection, biotechnological application; use of cyanobacteria in biotechnology; fossil cyanobacteria.
The conference program is extensive and includes not only lectures and reports. There will also be a tour of the capital of Bashkiria and a visit to the Askyn cave. The key moment will be a trip to the Social and Educational Center "Salikhovo", where participants will get acquainted with the ecosystem of the Republic of Bashkortostan. In the Chishminsky district, scientists will study halophyte steppes, which are unique and rarely found in other regions of Russia.
The IV International Scientific School-Conference "Cyanoprokaryotes/Cyanobacteria: systematics, ecology, distribution, use in biotechnology" will end on May 21. We hope that the event will contribute to the further development of science and technology not only in Akmulli University and Bashkortostan, but also in Russia as a whole.