The initial discussion of the dissertation submitted by Gunay Ilman Ismayılova, a research fellow at the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for obtaining the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology in the specialty 2422.01 – "Biotechnology (including bionanotechnology)" was held. The scientific supervisors of the dissertation titled "Study of Epigenetic Changes in Isolated Wheat Culture under In Vitro Conditions" are PhD in Biology, Associate Professor Mahira Mammadova, and PhD in Biology Tofig Garagozov. Günay Ismayılova explained the main provisions of her dissertation, providing detailed information on the relevance, objectives, and obtained results of the study. The speaker noted that the main purpose of the dissertation was to study epigenetic changes in isolated wheat culture under in vitro conditions. The results of the scientific research are beneficial for increasing wheat productivity under changing environmental conditions and ensuring food security. This, in turn, will enable the development of stress-resistant plant varieties that require less labor and financial resources. Developing such varieties is of great importance for maintaining production stability in changing climatic conditions and addressing challenges such as water scarcity and soil degradation.

A comprehensive discussion was held around the dissertation. The applicant answered the questions of the reviewers and participants and provided her comments on the criticisms and suggestions. At the end of the meeting, a decision was made to allow the dissertation to proceed to the next stage of defense.