Botanical Garden of Vilnius University

Botanical Garden of Vilnius University

Sukurta: 17 September 2013

43 Kairėnų, LT-10239 Vilnius
Tel. /fax 219 3133, 231 7933
E-mail:
http://www.botanikos-sodas.vu.lt

Director – Dr. Audrius Skridaila

DEPARTMENT ON SERVICE AND COORDINATION OF SCIENCE PROGRAMS

Group of Plant Biodiversity and Taxonomy
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Genetics
Tel. 219 3136
Head – Habil. Dr. Izolda Pašakinskienė

DEPARTMENT OF PLANT COLLECTION

Group of Lithuanian flora, tel. 219 3221
Group of dendrological collections, tel. 219 3217, 219 3221
Group of pomological collections, Head – Edvardas Meidus, tel. 219 3220
Group of herbaceous ornamental plant collections, Head – Dr. Gitana Štukėnienė, tel. 219 3218
Group of indoor plant collections, tel. 219 3137
Group of natural and induced mutants collections, Head – Dr. Laimutė Balčiūnienė, tel. 219 3137

DEPARTMENT OF VINGIS

110 M. K. Čiurlionio, LT-03100 Vilnius
Tel. 233 0160

Head – Dr. Regina Juodkaitė

STAFF

Chief research fellow: Habil. Dr. I. Pašakinskienė.
Senior research fellows: Dr. L. Balčiūnienė, Dr. S. Dapkūnienė, Dr. A. Skridaila, Dr. S. Žilinskaitė.
Research fellows: Dr. A. Aučina, Dr. R. Juodkaitė, Dr. D. Naugžemys, Dr. D. Ryliškis, Dr. G. Štukėnienė.
Doctoral student: R. Šiukšta.

MAIN RESEARCH AREAS

Genomics, biomolecules and biotechnologies: fundamental and applied research

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Plant genotaxonomy and biotechnology of cultivation and reproduction
Introduction and investigation of ornamental and fruit plants
Accumulation, investigation and preservation of plant genetic resources
Investigation of immunogenetic, polymorphism, genetic instability of plants
Micropropagation in vitro

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2012

Projects Supported by University Budget

Plant Genetic Resources, Biological, Molecular Studies and Biotechnology. Habil. Dr. I. Pašakinskienė. 2011–2015.

English Jew (Taxus baccata L.) is an endangered species in the Baltic countries with a scattered distribution and small size populations. Genetic diversity assessment by using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers was carried out in the sample of 78 individuals representing 10 populations from Latvia, Poland and Kaliningrad region. Our study indicates that existing T. baccata populations in the countries neighbouring Lithuania could be the remnants of one population previously covering the whole Eastern Baltic region.
The Syringa L.  varieties ‘Berryer’,‘First Liechtenstein’, ‘Geant des Batailles’, ‘Jaunakals Naktis’, ‘Jeanne d’Arc’, ‘M.I.Kalinin’,   ‘Mme Leon Simon’, ‘Ogni Dombassa’, ‘Pasteur’ and  ‘Volkan’ were propagated  in vitro conditions after the adjustment of in vitro method.
Introductive investigations of tulips collection (322 species and cultivars) included: 1) tulip resistance to climatic conditions was studied by evaluation of the influence of wintering conditions, spring frosts and other stress factors; 2) resistance to viral and fungal diseases; 3) assessment of ornamental quality. 132 tulip cultivars obtained the highest introductive score according to the criteria tested.
The diversity of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and their colonization of Scots pine, Norway spruce and oak seedlings (2+2) after outplanting to farmland were analyzed using several inoculation treatments. The influence of changed environment conditions on mycorrhizal colonization of the mentioned tree species were evaluated. The following most adaptive ECM fungal taxa on the seedlings were detected: Wilcoxina mikolae, Tomentella sp., Suillus luteus on pine, Wilcoxina sp.2, Wilcoxina sp.1, Wilcoxina mikolae on spruce and Paxillus involutus, Cenococcum geophilum, Pezizales 1 on oak.

International Science Programs and Projects

Project: Ribes/Rubus European Central Data Base. Dr. D. Ryliškis.
Internet: www.ribes-rubus.gf.vu.lt
The Central Ribes/Rubus Europe Database was managed (the IPGRI and ECP/GR request).

MAIN PUBLICATIONS

Textbooks, Manuals

S. Dapkūnienė, J. Varkulevičienė. Raktažolių (Primula L.) morfologinių dekoratyvių savybių apibūdinimo aprašas : metodinė priemonė. Kaunas : Akademija, 2012. 24 p.

Articles

D. Žvingila, V. Vaitkūnienė, J. Patamsytė, A. Leistrumaitė, M. Staniūtė, L. Balčiūnienė, T. Čėsnienė, V. Kleizaitė, R. Šiukšta, V. Rančelis. DNA polymorphism and agronomic traits of revertants from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutant tw // Žemdirbystė = Agriculture. Dotnuva : Lietuvos žemdirbystės institutas. 2012, t. 99, no. 2, p. 139-148.

A. Kurilčik, S. Dapkūnienė, G. Kurilčik, P. Duchovskis, A. Urbonavičiūtė, S. Žilinskaitė, A. Žukauskas. Effect of far-red light on the growth of chrysanthemum plantlets in vitro // Sodininkystė ir daržininkystė / Lietuvos sodininkystės ir daržininkystės institutas. Babtai : Lietuvos sodininkystės ir daržininkystės institutas. 2011, t. 30, nr. 3-4, p. 103-108.

S. Dapkūnienė, J. Vaidelys, O. Motiejūnaitė. Bijūnų (Paeonia L.) apibūdinimo aprašas - vienas iš augalų genetinių išteklių dokumentų // Dekoratyviųjų ir sodo augalų sortimento, technologijų ir aplinkos optimizavimas. Kaunas : Kauno kolegija. 2012, vol. 3, p. 19-24.

B. Grigaliūnaitė, S. Žilinskaitė, D. Radaitienė. Japoninio svarainio (Chaenomeles japonica) fitosanitarinė būklė Vilniaus universiteto Botanikos sode // Dekoratyviųjų ir sodo augalų sortimento, technologijų ir aplinkos optimizavimas. Kaunas : Kauno kolegija. 2012, vol. 3, p. 25-29.

S. Dapkūnienė, R. Juodkaitė. Pavieniai medžiai ir medžių grupės - augalų nacionalinių genetinių išteklių dalis // Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Botanikos sodo raštai. Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla. 2011, t. 15, p. 22-32.

J. Varkulevičienė, S. Dapkūnienė. Raktažolių (Primula L.) apibūdinimo aprašas // Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Botanikos sodo raštai. Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla. 2011, t. 15, p. 113-119.

R. Juodkaitė, S. Dapkūnienė, A. Skridaila, G. Štukėnienė, A. Baliūnienė. Assessment of resistance to tulip breaking virus (TBV) in the tulip collections of the Botanical garden of Vilnius university // Acta Horticulturae. Leuven : International Society Horticultural Science. 2012, Vol. 937 : proceedings of the 28th international horticular congress on science and horticulture for people, Lisboa 2010. p. 977-982.

R. Šiukšta, V. Vaitkūnienė, V. Rančelis, D. Žvingila, T. Čėsnienė, V. Kleizaitė, J. Žukauskaitė, L. Balčiūnienė. Barley homeotic mutants and their hybrids for ornamental purposes // Acta Horticulturae. Leuven : International Society Horticultural Science. 2012, Vol. 953 : Ornamental Breeding Worlwide : Proceedings of the 24th International EUCARPIA Symposium - Section Ornamentals, September 2-5, 2012, Warsaw, Poland. p. 337-343.

K. Antonius, S. Karhu, H. Kaldmae, G. Lacis, R. Rugienius, D. Baniulis, A. Sasnauskas, E. Schulte, A. Kuras, M. Korbin, A. Gunnarsson, G. Werlemark, D. Ryliškis, T. Todam-Andersen, L. Kokk, K. Jarve. Development of the Northern European Ribes core collection based on a microsatellite (SSR) marker diversity analysis // Plant genetic resources: characterisation and utilisation. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. 2012, Vol. 10, no. 1, p. 70-73.

V. Čeksterytė, V. Paplauskienė, D. Tamašauskienė, I. Pašakinskienė, I. Mažeikienė. Genetic characterization of Lithuanian honeybee lines based on ISSR polymorphism // Apidologie. Paris : Springer France. 2012, vol. 43, no 6, p. 652-662.

M. Manns, H. Wedemeyer, A. Singer, N. Khomutjanskaja, H. Dienes, T. Roskams, R. Goldin, U. Hehnke, H. Inoue, J. Kondrackienė, V. Petrenkienė, A. Ambrozaitis, L. Balčiūnienė, G. Denapienė, A. Irnius, D. Speičienė, B. Titova, A. Voinič. Glycyrrhizin in patients who failed previous interferon alpha-based therapies: biochemical and histological effects after 52 weeks / M. P. Manns, H. Wedemeyer, A. Singer, N. Khomutjanskaja, H. P. Dienes, T. Roskams, R. Goldin, U. Hehnke, H. Inoue and the European SNMC Study Group [Participating investigators in Lithuania : J. Kondrackienė, V. Petrenkienė, A. Ambrozaitis, L. Balčiūnienė, G. Denapienė, A. Irnius, D. Speičienė, B. Titova, A. Voinič] // Journal of Viral Hepatitis. Oxford : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012, Vol. 19, iss. 8, p. 537-546. (tyrėjai).

S. Dapkūnienė, G. Štukėnienė. National Plant Genetic Resources of Ornamental Plants and Morphological Characterization of Paeonia // Acta Horticulturae. Leuven : International Society Horticultural Science. 2012, Vol. 953 : Ornamental Breeding Worlwide : Proceedings of the 24th International EUCARPIA Symposium - Section Ornamentals, September 2-5, 2012, Warsaw, Poland. p. 55-60.

G. Štukėnienė, A. Skridaila. Plant genetic resources in the Botanical garden of Vilnius university // Acta Horticulturae. Leuven : International Society Horticultural Science. 2012, Vol. 937 : proceedings of the 28th international horticular congress on science and horticulture for people, Lisboa 2010. p. 129-131.

R. Juodkaitė, A. Baliūnienė, Z. Jančys. Assessment of the Vegetative Reproduction Potential of Tulips (Tulipa L.) // Floriculture and Ornamental Biotechnology. Middlesex : Global Science Books, Ltd. 2012, Vol. 6, spec.iss. 2, p. 122-132.

A. Aučina, A. Skridaila, L. Balčiūnienė, D. Ryliškis. Early growth and ectomycorrhizal colonization of bare-root scots pine seedlings growing in substrata with forest litter addition // Baltic Botanic gardens in 2009-2010 : Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Riga : Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia, 2012, p. 65-74.

Materials of conferences

V. Tunaitienė, J. Patamsytė, T. Čėsnienė, V. Kleizaitė, D. Naugžemys, V. Rančelis, D. Žvingila. Comparison of genetic diversity in two alien plant species // Tagungsband 25. Deutsche Arbeitsbesprechung uber Fragen der Unkrautbiologie und -bekampfung = 25th German Conference on Weed Biology and Weed Control, 13-15 March 2012, Germany : proceedings. Vol. 2. - Ser.: Julius Kuhn Archiv. 434. Braunschweig : Technische Universitat Braunschweig, 2012, p. 679-685.

S. Žilinskaitė, B. Grigaliūnaitė. Diseases agents of blue-berried honeysuckle (Lonicera L.) at the collection of Vilnius University Botanic Garden // Sovremennye problemy introdukcii, selekcii i technologij vozdelyvanija netradicionnych sadovych kultur: materialy meždunarodnoj distancionnoj naučno-metodičeskoj konverencii. Voronež : Kvarta, 2012, p. 145-152.

S. Žilinskaitė, O. Motiejūnaitė, A. Skridaila, S. Dapkūnienė, G. Štukėnienė. Ex situ conservation and investigation of rare and endangered plants of Lithuania // EuroGard V : Botanic gardens in the age of climate change : fifth European botanic gardens congress : supplementary proceedings / edited by Leif Schulman, Johan Kotze, Susanna Lehvavirta. Helsinki, 2012, p. 39-50.

S. Žilinskaitė, B. Grigaliūnaitė. Diseases agents of blue-berried honeysuckle (Lonicera L.) at the collection of Vilnius university Botanic garden // Modern problems of introduction, breeding and technology of production of woody uncommon horticultural crops : [virtuali konferencija], Michurinsk. http://treeconf.forum2x2.ru/, [3 p.].

COOPERATION

BGCI – Botanical Garden Conservation International
EU Botanical Garden Consortium
Network: Botanical Gardens in the Baltic Sea Region
Baltic Botanical Gardens Association (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
LUBSA – Lithuanian Association of University Botanical Gardens
IPGRI – International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (Italy)
Institute of Dendrology, Kornik (Poland)
Lithuanian Coordination Centre of Ornamental Plants Genetic Resources (Lithuania)
Lithuanian University of Agriculture (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Forest Institute of Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Plant Gene Bank (Lithuania)
Institute of Botany of Nature Research Centre (Lithuania)
Botanical Garden had seed exchange contacts with 228 botanical gardens and arboreta from 46 countries

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

Dr. L. Balčiūnienė –

  • member of the Lithuanian National Plant Genetic Resources Commission;
  • secretary of the Association of Botanical Gardens of Lithuanian Universities;
  • vice-president of the Lithuanian Natural Society;
  • auditor of the society “Žaliuojanti Vilnija”.

Dr. S. Dapkūnienė  –

  • member of the board of Lithuanian Floriculture Union.

Dr. R. Juodkaitė –

  • chairman of the board of Lithuanian Floriculture Union;
  • member of NJF (Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists).

Dr. D. Ryliškis –

  • manager of European Ribes/Rubus Central Data Base;
  • member of European cooperative programme for crop genetic resources network.

Habil. Dr. I. Pašakinskienė –

  • editorial  board member of the journals Agriculture-Žemdirbystė and Botanica Lituanica (Lithuania);
  • member of the Commission for Agriculture, Horticulture and Biotechnology at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Division of Agriculture and Forestry;
  • member of the executive committee for Master studies in Genetics at Vilnius University;
  • member of the executive committee for PhD studies in Biology at Vilnius University;
  • member of the executive committee for PhD studies in Ecology and Environmental Research at Vilnius University.

Dr. A. Skridaila –

  • member of the Lithuanian National Plant Genetic Resources Commission;
  • member of the Council of Invasive Organisms at the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • member of the Council of the Society of the Lithuanian Dendrologists.

R. Šiukšta  –

  • jury member of the 45th Lithuanian School Biology Olympiad (LitBO45).

Dr. G. Štukėnienė  –

  • member of NJF (Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists);
  • member of ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science);
  • member of EUCARPIA (European Association for Plant Breeding Research).

Dr. S. Žilinskaitė  –

  • member of EUCARPIA (European Association for Plant Breeding Research);
  • member of the board of Lithuanian Floriculture Union;
  • responsible for contacts of the Botanical Garden of  Vilnius University with the BGCI – Botanical Garden Conservation International.