Ivannikov R. Reproductive biology of orchids in vitro.

The dissertation is devoted to studying reproductive biology characteristics of rare and endangered species of orchid family in vitro. The emphasis is made on pregenerative period that includes transition sequence "embryo", "protoсorm", "seedling". On the basis of study on more than 200 taxa, the patterns of sporophyte formation in orchid family and the ways of its reproductive potential realization in vitro were described. Based on extensive study of pregenerative period of development and monitoring adaptive reactions of orchids under conditions of aseptic culture, we proposed a substantiated strategy and developed basic procedures (including cryopreservation) for the effective conservation of representatives of this family in vitro and ex situ.