The first polar biology laboratory has been opened in Ukraine. Why is it important

The National Antarctic Science Center (NASC) has opened its own laboratory for analyzing biological samples brought from Antarctica.

This was reported by the press service of the National Academy of Sciences.

As explained at the center, some biological research is carried out directly on the Akademik Vernadsky station, some in the ocean aboard the Noosphere, and others in well-equipped laboratories on the "big land".

Samples from Antarctica were brought to Kyiv and distributed to various institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and universities, and were also sent abroad for analysis.

However, the volume of work by NANC biologists became so significant that the question arose of creating our own modern laboratory, fully tailored to the needs of polar biology.

The laboratory premises were provided by the Kyiv Aviation Institute. The National Academy of Sciences brought equipment there and started work.

The laboratory is headed by Maria Pavlovska, whose specialization includes marine microbiology and environmental DNA analysis (eDNA). This method allows you to identify literally all biodiversity in a single sample: from bacteria and viruses to fish or whales.

Currently, with the help of modern devices, the laboratory already provides a full cycle of molecular genetic research.

Among the priorities is bioprospecting. That is, searching for substances in Antarctic plants and microorganisms that are potentially useful for medicine, the food industry, such as new antibiotics or antioxidants, etc.

That is why the Department of Biotechnology became the main partner of the National Academy of Sciences at the KAI. In this area, scientists study complex interactions between organisms in polar ecosystems — from the exchange of biosynthetic products between bacteria and microalgae in the Southern Ocean to the fine "tuning" of symbiotic relationships between Antarctic insects and plants with bacteria within them.

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