On February 28, 2022, at the ED 1.25 Dissertation Council operating under the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of ANAS, the dissertation work entitled “Light-induced proteome and metabolome changes in cereals" for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biology (2415.01) was presented by Aynura Pashayeva, a researcher of the International Laboratory of Proteomics ". Opening the event, Chairman of the Dissertation Council, Vice-President of ANAS, Director General of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, Academician Irada Huseynova noted that 15 out of 18 members of the Dissertation Council participate in the meeting. The dissertation work was carried out under the supervision of the head of the International Laboratory of Proteomics, Doctor of Philosophy in Biology Ismail Zulfugarov. The official opponents were the correspondent member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Victor Anatolyevich Kunakh, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Rovshan Ibrahimkhalil oglu Khalilov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor Irina Vasilyevna Goldenkova-Pavlova.
Scientific Secretary of the Dissertation Council, Doctor of Philosophy in Biology, Associate Professor Ulduza Gurbanova gave the floor to the applicant after acquainting the members of the council with the documents in the personal file of A. Pashayeva.
The applicant provided detailed information on the relevance of the topic, the purpose of the research, the issues raised, and their solutions, commented on the main provisions of the dissertation. She said that the main purpose was to study the mechanisms of adaptation to different stress conditions by studying proteome and metabolome changes in plants under the influence of light and to clarify the relationship between the energy-dependent component of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and phosphorylation. For the first time, the comparative kinetics of induction and relaxation of NPQ after dark adaptation and exposure to light, the dynamics of the distribution of pigment-protein complexes before and after the rehydration process were studied in local bread wheat varieties differing in drought tolerance. Using PSII-rich thylakoid membrane fragments, the localization of the PsbS protein in rice plants was determined, and the dynamics of phosphorylation of thylakoid membrane proteins at different light intensities were studied.
Afterward, the dissertation was widely discussed. The applicant answered the questions of the council members and expressed her attitude to the recommendations and remarks of the opponents. After hearing the final words of the applicant, a secret electronic vote was held. According to the results of the voting, it was decided to apply to the Supreme Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to award Aynura Pashayeva the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology.