On the anniversary of the President of the Vavilov Society of Geneticists and Breeders Academician Igor Anatolyevich Tikhonovich

On January 1, 2024, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Anatolyevich Tikhonovich, an outstanding specialist in the field of genetics of plant-microbial interactions, a prominent higher education teacher and organizer of science, turned 75 years old. He has published more than 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, prepared 10 monographs and textbooks, and received 12 patents. Academician Tikhonovich led the All-Russian Institute of Agricultural Microbiology for more than forty years, which under his leadership developed into a leading internationally recognized scientific school in the field of symbiogenetics. One of the most important conceptual generalizations formulated by I.A. Tikhonovich was the principle of complementarity of genomes. Under the leadership and with the direct participation of Igor Anatolyevich, the formation and development of new Master’s degree programs in agrobiotechnology and molecular biology of plants was started at St. Petersburg State University and the Sirius University of Science and Technology. During the leadership of Igor Anatolyevich, the Vavilov Society of Genetics and Breeders was replenished with new departments and held a number of important scientific events, including the VII Congress of VOGiS and the “Russian Genetic Resources” Forums.

Friends and associates, the community of geneticists and breeders of the Russian Federation warmly congratulate Igor Anatolyevich on his anniversary and wish him major scientific discoveries, new pedagogical achievements and the attainment of all his goals.

1. Dolgikh A.V., Kirienko A.N., Tikhonovich I.A., Foo E., Dolgikh E.A. The DELLA proteins influence the expression of cytokinin biosynthesis and response genes during nodulation. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2019;10:432. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00432

2. Dolgikh E.A., Kusakin P.G., Kitaeva A.B., Tsyganova A.V., Kirienko A.N., Leppyanen I.V., Dolgikh A.V., Ilina E.L., Demchenko K.N., Tikhonovich I.A., Tsyganov V.E. Mutational analysis indicates that abnormalities in rhizobial infection and subsequent plant cell and bacteroid differentiation in pea (Pisum sativum) nodules coincide with abnormal cytokinin responses and localization. Annals of Botany. 2020;125(6):905-923. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa022

3. Kirienko A.N., Porozov Y.B., Malkov N.V., Akhtemova G.A., Le Signor C., Thompson R., Saffray C., Dalmais M., Bendahmane A., Tikhonovich I.A., Dolgikh E.A. Role of a receptor-like kinase K1 in pea Rhizobium symbiosis development. Planta. 2018;248(5):1101-1120. DOI: 10.1007/s00425-018-2944-4

4. Kitaeva A.B., Demchenko K.N., Tikhonovich I.A., Timmers A.C.J., Tsyganov V.E., Comparative analysis of the tubulin cytoskeleton organization in nodules of Medicago truncatula and Pisum sativum: bacterial release and bacteroid positioning correlate with characteristic microtubule rearrangements. New Phytologist. 2016;210(1):168-183. DOI: 10.1111/nph.13792

5. Kosolapova A.O., Belousov M.V., Sulatsky M.I., Tsyganova A.V., Sulatskaya A.I., Bobylev A.G., Shtark O.Yu., Tsyganov V.E., Volkov K.V., Zhukov V.A., Tikhonovich I.A., Nizhnikov A.A. RopB protein of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae adopts amyloid state during symbiotic interactions with pea (Pisum sativum L.). Frontiers in Plant Science. 2022;13:1014699. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1014699

6. Kulaeva O.A., Zhernakov A.I., Afonin A.M., Boikov S.S., Sulima A.S., Tikhonovich I.A., Zhukov V.A. Pea Marker Database (PMD) – a new online database combining known pea (Pisum sativum L.) gene-based markers. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(10):e0186713. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186713

7. Leppyanen I.V., Pavlova O.A., Vashurina M.A., Bovin A.D., Dolgikh A.V., Shtark O.Y., Sendersky I.V., Dolgikh V.V., Tikhonovich I.A., Dolgikh E.A. LysM Receptor-Like Kinase LYK9 of Pisum sativum L. may regulate plant responses to chitooligosaccharides differing in structure. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021;22(2):711. DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020711

8. Provorov N.A., Tikhonovich I.A., Andronov E.E., Borisov A.Yu., Belimov A.A., Vorobyov N.I., Dolgikh E.A., Zhernakov A.I., Zhukov V.A., Kimeklis A.K., Kopat V.V., Kurchak O.N., Onischuk O.P., Safronova V.I., Sulima A.S., Chizhevskaya E.P., Chirak E.R., Stark O.Yu. Genetic basis of the evolution of bacteria – plant symbionts (Geneticheskiye osnovy evolyutsii bakteriy – simbiontov rasteniy). N.A. Provorov, I.A. Tikhonovich (eds). St. Petersburg; 2016. [in Russian]

9. Safronova V.I., Guro P.V., Sazanova A.L., Kuznetsova I.G., Belimov A.A., Yakubov V.V., Chirak E.R., Afonin A.M., Gogolev Y.V., Andronov E.E., Tikhonovich I.A. Rhizobial microsymbionts of Kamchatka Oxytropis species possess genes of the type III and VI secretion systems, which can affect the development of symbiosis. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. 2020;33(10):1232-1241. DOI: 10.1094/MPMI-05-20-0114-R

10. Samorodova A.P., Tvorogova V.E., Tkachenko A.A., Potsenkovskaya E.A., Lebedeva М.А., Tikhonovich I.A., Lutova L.А. Agrobacterial tumors interfere with nodulation and demonstrate the expression of nodulation-induced CLE genes in pea. Journal of Plant Physiology. 2018;221:94-100. DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2017.12.005

11. Serova T.A., Tikhonovich I.A., Tsyganov V.E. Analysis of nodule senescence in pea (Pisum sativum L.) using laser microdissection, real-time PCR, and ACC immunolocalization. Journal of Plant Physiology. 2017;212:29-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2017.01.012

12. Serova T.A., Tsyganova A.V., Tikhonovich I.A., Tsyganov V.E. Gibberellins inhibit nodule senescence and stimulate nodule meristem bifurcation in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Frontiers in Plant Science. 2019;10:285. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00285

13. Sulima A.S., Zhukov V.A., Afonin A.A., Zhernakov A.I., Tikhonovich I.A., Lutova L.A. Selection signatures in the first exon of paralogous receptor kinase genes from the Sym2 region of the Pisum sativum L. genome. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2017;8:1957. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01957

14. Tikhonovich I.A., Provorov N.A. Genetic basis of biotechnology in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Chapter 9. (Geneticheskiye osnovy biotekhnologii v simbioticheskoy azotfiksatsii. Glava 9). In: Agricultural biotechnology and bioengineering: textbook (Sel'skokhozyaystvennaya biotekhnologiya i bioinzheneriya: uchebnik). V.S. Shevelukha (ed.). 4th ed. significantly reworked with additions. Moscow; 2015. p.356-390. [in Russian]

15. Tikhonovich I.A., Provorov N.A. Symbiosis of Plants and Microorganisms: The Molecular Genetics of the Agrosystems of the Future. St. Petersburg; 2009. [in Russian]