AltSU scientists are developing a device that will help speed up the work of breeders

Scientists from the South Siberian Botanical Garden of Altai State University, within the framework of the Priority 2030 Program, are developing a flow cytometer for genetic certification of species, varieties and breeds of plants and animals. The device will be portable and will be able to substitute expensive imported laboratory equipment.

“We focus primarily on breeders. One of the breeding stages is the selection of hybrid forms, when two different varieties are crossed to obtain a new one. To identify this new variety, you can wait for the plant to grow and then study its characteristics. Sometimes this work takes several seasons. And you can measure the size of the genome in parental forms: if they differ, then in the hybrid, respectively, the size of the genome will take an intermediate value. This study can be carried out already at the stage of a young plant, without losing the season, because each season counts,” said the project manager, Deputy Director for Science of the South Siberian Botanical Garden, Candidate of Biological Sciences Maxim Kutsev.

Now the scientists of the Botanical Garden of AltSU are conducting such studies using expensive imported laboratory equipment. Including ordered one - they are in demand among breeding stations, specialized institutes that are engaged in plant breeding, test seed stations that do not have such equipment.

The new device will be affordable, and most importantly - portable, suitable for field research. This will save a lot of time and resources.

“Such cytometers, as a rule, are quite complex devices with many settings. They are universal, they are used by doctors, botanists, and epidemiologists. Our device is aimed at solving specific problems, we have simplified it to the required level. The software will allow even non-specialists in the field of genetics to conduct research,” Maxim Kutsev noted.

Now the team of scientists has several prototypes of the device, by September they plan to get a ready-made industrial design.

The laboratories of the Botanical Garden are open to students, so they can use the flow cytometer to prepare their term papers and dissertations.