'Development of ex situ conservation methods for protected species of the heather family (Ericaceae)' - is a project that has received funding from the programme 'Students' scientific clubs create innovations'. It will be carried out by the 'Explantatus' Student Research Group of Plant Embryologists and Biotechnologists. The originator of the idea is mgr Michał Starke from the Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology of the Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk.

The main goal of the project is to develop effective methods of ex situ (i.e. off-site) protection for two protected plant species of the Ericaceae family: bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) and cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix).

- 'The research will focus on the development of methods enabling the preservation and mass multiplication of these two species using in vitro culture (micropropagation),' - says mgr Michał Starke, Project Assistant Supervisor. - 'In addition, the in vitro plant collection located at the Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology (KCiER) will be expanded to include the studied species. The current in vitro collection is a reservoir of plants that, if necessary, can be used to strengthen populations in the wild or to establish surrogate cultures in the wild.'

The project has been prepared in cooperation with the students of SKN and its supervisors.

- 'We hope that our research will contribute to better protection of these two plant species threatened by anthropopressure, by using the protocols we have developed for other local populations,' - stresses mgr Michał Starke. - 'Moreover, the plants that will form part of our collection will secure the gene pool of species from the Pomeranian Voivodeship and, if necessary, can be used for environmental remediation,' - he adds.

The project is an extension of research carried out by the SKN 'Explantatus' and the Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology on protected and endangered species, such as: floating water-plantain (Luronium natans), crested wood fern (Dryopteris cristata), brown beak-sedge (Rhynchospora fusca) or marsh saxifrage (Saxifraga hirculus).

As the members of the club involved in the project explain, the selected species occur in peat bogs, which are a very delicate ecosystem, susceptible to the influence of external factors. For example, over-exploitation of groundwater can lower its level, reducing the hydration of the peat, leading to its mucking up, resulting in the eutrophication of the peat bog, and consequently leading to overgrowth of the peat bog by bushy and woody vegetation. Populations of low light-loving species, such as Erica tetralix, fail to compete with larger plants when this sequence occurs and become extinct. The inclusion of Andromeda polifolia and Erica tetralix in in vitro studies is a consequence of the interest of KCiER staff and students in environmental protection and the influence of factors regulating plant growth and development in terms of environmental stress.

Let us remind you, the Student Scientific Club of Plant Embryologists and Biotechnologists 'Explantatus' was founded in 2014 by a group of embryology and biotechnology enthusiasts. The scope of SKN's activities includes conducting research on various plant species, including endangered, protected, medicinal or economically important ones. Most of the research is focused on the optimization of breeding, but also on the induction of organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis, or in vitro androgenesis, using biotechnology techniques, but also microscopy techniques, in terms of cytology and plant embryology.