The international scientific conference on “Wheat Improvement through the Application of Digital and GWAS-Based Technologies,” dedicated to the “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty” and the 80th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), continued its work at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan with focused thematic sessions.

The first session, moderated by Professor Rovshan Khalilov, Doctor of Biological Sciences and Head of Department at Baku State University, and Dr. Ayten Agayeva, PhD in Biology and Chief Specialist of the Department of Biological and Medical Sciences of ANAS. This session covered two main topics: “Modern technologies and novel approaches aimed at enhancing the resilience and productivity of agricultural crops”, “The application of GWAS in personalized treatment of various pathologies, risk assessment, ethnic/genetic diversity studies, pharmacogenetic approaches, and preventive medicine strategies”. Participants listened to a series of scientific presentations and engaged in detailed discussions on the above themes.

The second session featured presentations from researchers representing various countries, focusing on key innovative areas in modern plant breeding. The session covered the following thematic directions: “GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Studies) and Marker-Assisted Selection”, “Genome Editing and Molecular Breeding Methods in Wheat Improvement Programs”, “Use of High-Throughput Phenotyping (HTP) Technologies in Breeding; Artificial Intelligence and Smart Agriculture”, “Physiological Stress Indicators in Wheat and the Use of Non-Invasive Digital Phenotyping Technologies for Their Measurement”. The session was chaired by Associate Professor PhD Elamdar Mammadov, Executive Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and PhD Aynura Pashayeva, Head of Laboratory at the same institute.

The third session was dedicated to the theme “Resilience and Adaptation Strategies of Wheat Genotypes under Climate Change: Genomics-Based Identification of Genotypes Tolerant to Abiotic (drought, salinity, high temperatures, etc.) and Biotic (pests, viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.) stress Factors.” The session was moderated by Yashar Feyziyev, Doctor of Biological Sciences and Head of Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, and Ulkar Ibrahimova, PhD in Biology and Leading Researcher at the same institute.

Over the course of the day, 50 oral presentations were delivered across all conference sessions, and more than 40 posters were showcased.

The presenters of parallel sessions and authors of poster presentations represented research institutions and universities not only from Azerbaijan but also from countries such as Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Iran, Somalia, the United Kingdom, Germany, etc.

 The event continues on June 13 with a Field Seminar at the Gobustan Regional Experimental Station of the Research Institute of Crop Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.