Department of Applied Biology

Research Group Leader Paweł Czembor, DSc, associate professor

• Dariusz Mańkowski, PhD, associate professor
• Urszula Piechota, PhD, assistant professor
• Magdalena Radecka-Janusik, PhD, assistant professor
• Dominika Piaskowska, MSc, assistant
• Piotr Słowacki, MSc, assistant
• Grzegorz Czajowski, PhD, senior specialist
• Julia Góral, technical staff
• Dorota Krauze, technical staff
• Magdalena Pałuba, MSc, technical staff
• Teresa Wieczorek, technical staff
• Janina Włoszczewska, technical staff

Research Group Leader Roman Warzecha, PhD, assistant professor

• Monika Żurek, MSc, assistant
• Ewa Bartosiak, engr., technical staff
• Barbara Kamińska, technical staff
• Tomasz Lubas, technical staff
• Dariusz Wołkow, technical staff

Research Group Leader Piotr Ochodzki, PhD, assistant professor

• Tomasz Góral, DSc, assistant professor
• Elżbieta Dąbrowska, technical staff
• Sylwia Liśkiewicz, technical staff
• Monika Skonieczna, technical staff

Research Group Leader Jarosław Przetakiewicz, DSc, assistant professor

• Anna Podlewska-Przetakiewicz, PhD, assistant professor
• Monika Aleksandrowicz, technical staff
• Danuta Kuczara, technical staff
• Agnieszka Milczarek, technical staff

Research activity

1. Genetic and molecular analysis of disease resistance in wheat and triticale (yellow, brown and stem rust, Septoria tritici blotch, powdery mildew, and Fusarium head blight) and barley (leaf rust and powdery mildew).
2. Pathogenicity evaluation of selected cereal necrotrophic and biotrophic fungi such as Blumeria graminis (on barley, wheat, and triticale), Puccinia triticina (on wheat and triticale), P. striiformis f.sp. tritici (on wheat and triticale), P. hordei (on barley), Zymoseptoria tritici (on wheat and triticale) and Fusarium spp. (on wheat, triticale, and maize).
3. Analysis of plant and fungal metabolites (mycotoxins and others) in cereal and maize grain by ELISA, GC, HPLC and LC/MS methods.
4. Enhancement and analysis of genetic variability of cereals and maize and development and implementation of breeding methods for major crop species based on genomics, phenomics and bioinformatics.
5. Improvement of existing and development and implementation of new mathematical and statistical methods of data collection, processing, and analysis for biological experimental systems, including plant breeding.
6. Development and implementation of hybrid breeding systems for maize, triticale, wheat, and rye based on cytoplasmic-gene male sterility.
7. Induction of maize maternal haploids and production of doubled haploid lines.
8. Research for organic farming in seed, cultivation and variety selection of cereals and maize.
9. Conducting field experiments with hybrid maize varieties (F1) for different purposes of use.
10. Synchytrium endobioticum - identification of pathotypes and evaluation of potato genotypes resistance to different pathotypes of the fungus.
11. Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida - identification of pathotypes and evaluation of potato genotypes resistance to different pathotypes of potato cyst nematodes and aggressive nematodes.

Publications 2021

• Adamczewska-Sowińska, K., Sowiński, J., Anioł, M., Ochodzki, P., Warzecha, R. (2021). The Effect of Polyethylene Film and Polypropylene Non-Woven Fabric Cover on Cobs Parameters and Nutritional Value of Two Sweet Maize (Zea mays L. var. saccharata Bailey) Hybrids. Agronomy, 11(3), 1-18. doi: 10.3390/agronomy11030539
• Bednarek, P., Orłowska, R., Mańkowski, D., Oleszczuk, S., Żebrowski, J. (2021). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Analysis of Sequence Variation and Green Plant Regeneration via Anther Culture in Barley. Cells, 10(10), 2774. doi: 10.3390/cells10102774
• Czajowski, G., Kosman, E., Słowacki, P., Park, R., Czembor, P. (2021). Pathogenic and genetic diversity of Puccinia triticina from triticale in Poland between 2012 and 2015. Plant Pathology, 70(9), 2148-2164. doi: 10.1111/ppa.13450
• Czajowski, G., Kosman, R., Słowacki, P., Park, R.F., Czembor, P. (2021). Assessing new SSR markers for utility and informativeness in genetic studies of brown rust fungi on wheat, triticale, and rye. Plant Pathology, 70(5), 1110–1122. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13347
• Góral, T., Wiśniewska, H., Ochodzki, P., Twardawska, A., Walentyn-Góral, D. (2021). Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight, Kernel Damage, and Concentration of Fusarium Mycotoxins in Grain of Winter Triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) Lines. Agronomy, 11, 16, doi: 10.3390/agronomy11010016
• Lebecka, R., Wasilewicz-Flis, I., Mańkowski, D. (2021). Diploid Potato Germplasm with Resistance to Dickeya solani. Potato Research, 3, 375-385. doi: 10.1007/s11540-020-09482-w
• Marzec-Schmidt, K., Börjesson, T., Suproniene, S., Jędryczka, M., Janavičienė, S., Góral, T., Karlsson, I., Kochiieru, Y., Ochodzki, P., Mankevičienė, A., Piikki, K. (2021). Modelling the Effects of Weather Conditions on Cereal Grain Contamination with Deoxynivalenol in the Baltic Sea Region. Toxins, 11, 737. doi: 10.3390/toxins13110737
• Michalski, K., Hertig, C., Mańkowski, D., Kumlehn, J., Zimny, J., Linkiewicz, A. (2021). Functional Validation of cas9/guideRNA Constructs for Site-Directed Mutagenesis of Triticale ABA8′OH1 loci. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 13, 7038. doi: 10.3390/ijms22137038
• Milczarek, D., Podlewska-Przetakiewicz, A., Plich, J., Tatarowska, B., Flis, B. (2021). The relations of broad nematode resistance to quality characteristics as a consequence of marker-assisted selection in potato breeding programs. Breeding Science, 71(5), 609-614. doi: 10.1270/jsbbs.20121
• Ochodzki, P., Twardawska, A., Wiśniewska, H., Góral, T. (2021). Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight, Kernel Damage, and Concentrations of Fusarium Mycotoxins in the Grain of Winter Wheat Lines. Agronomy, 11(9), 1690. doi: 10.3390/agronomy11091690
• Piaskowska, D., Piechota, U., Radecka-Janusik, M., Czembor, P. (2021). QTL Mapping of Seedling and Adult Plant Resistance to Septoria Tritici Blotch in Winter Wheat cv. Mandub (Triticum aestivum L.). Agronomy, 6, 1108. doi: 10.3390/agronomy11061108
• Śliwińska, A., Orłowska, R., Mańkowski, D., Sykłowska-Baranek, K., Pietrosiuk, A., Białek, A. (2021). Comparative Study of the Genetic and Biochemical Variability of Polyscias filicifolia (Araliaceae) Regenerants Obtained by Indirect and Direct Somatic Embryogenesis as a Source of Triterpenes. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(11), 5752. doi: 10.3390/ijms22115752
• Tkaczyk, A., Jedziniak, P., Zielonka, Ł., Ochodzki, P., Rudawska, A., Dąbrowski, M. (2021). Biomarkers of Deoxynivalenol, Citrinin, Ochratoxin A and Zearalenone in Pigs after Exposure to Naturally Contaminated Feed Close to Guidance Values. Toxins, 13(11), 1-17. doi: 10.3390/toxins13110750

Recent research projects

International

• 2018-2022. Czembor P. co-investigator in project “RustWatch: A European early-warning system for wheat rust diseases” Horizon 2020 Program, European Commission, Grant Agreement nr 773311.

Domestic

• 2021-2027. Czembor P. principal investigator in the project: Septoria tritici blotch (Zymoseptoria tritici): population structure, identification of resistance loci in wheat and introduction of the effective resistance genes to the breeding materials. Program of Fundamental Research for Biological Progress in Crop Production, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2027. Czembor P. principal investigator in the project: Yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici): population structure, identification of resistance loci in common and durum wheat and triticale, and introduction of the effective resistance genes to the breeding materials. Program of Fundamental Research for Biological Progress in Crop Production, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021. Warzecha R. principal investigator in the project: Development of seed production technology of winter spelt wheat and winter triticale for organic farms - guidelines for running organic agricultural seed plantations. Fundamental Research for Organic Farming on Field Crops by Organic Methods, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2025. Warzecha R. principal investigator in the project: Ex situ conservation of maize genetic resources. Targeted Subsidy, the study area of Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources of Agricultural Plants, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2025. Warzecha R. principal investigator in the project: Cereal crops. Identification and development of new national unit indicators and sustainable production methods for environmental protection and climate change mitigation in agriculture (Program area). Targeted Subsidy of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2025. Ochodzki P. principal investigator in the project: Selection of maize varieties for different uses in frame of the Organic Varietal Evaluation Experiments. Targeted Subsidy, the study area of Ecological Agriculture, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2025. Czembor P. principal investigator in the project: New genetic sources and targeted molecular markers for resistance breeding of barley. Targeted Subsidy, the study area of Plant Breeding and Seed Production, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2025. Przetakiewicz J. principal investigator in the project: Identification of phytopathogenic organisms for inspections performed by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection. Targeted Subsidy, the study area of Plant Protection, Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• 2021-2024. Plich J. principal investigator (IHAR-PIB, Research Branch Młochów), Przetakiewicz J. co-investigator in the project: The use of the Sen2 gene in breeding new potato varieties with broad resistance to virulent pathotypes of potato wart disease. Project TANGO-IV-B/0001/2019-00, edition „TANGO 4”.
• 2021-2022. Leader of the project - Agricultural Advisory Center in Brwinów; participant - IHAR-PIB (Szechyńska-Hebda M., Góral T., Warzecha R., Ochodzki P., Czembor P., Piaskowska D., Bartosiak E.). Rural Development Programme in 2014-2020, Operational Measure 00034.DDD.6509.00107.2019.07, project „TELEDIS”.

Honors and Awards

• Roman Warzecha honored with medal „Agrobusinessman of the Year”, 30-year 1991-2020 „Agrobusinessman of Poland” programme, Warsaw, Belweder, 29 July 2021.
• Piotr Ochodzki honored by Ryszard Zarudzki, Director of Kujawsko-Pomorski Agricultural Advisory Centre in Minikowo for the IHAR-PIB exposition, Minikowo 19-20 June 2021.