The Balkan Region represents one of the European major centers of plant diversity, with a substantial number of endemic genera and species. There is an urgent requirement to clarify and improve the methodologies and investigations that enable scientists to conserve, manage and utilize plants and their habitats in this region. We developed ex situ conservation strategies for selected rare and/or endangered plant species, to complement existing long-term in situ conservation efforts. The assessment of genetic diversity in extant populations, as well as establishment and maintenance of seed and/or in vitro germplasm collections which are adopted to fulfill an adequate genetic representation of the genetic makeup of species, is performed.

The specific area of research represents investigation of regulation of oxidant-induced changes of aerobic organisms and we develop three various areas of investigation: 1) biomonitoring of aquatic organisms, 2) toxicology and 3) biomarkers and pathophysiological states.

1) Biomonitoring of aquatic organisms. Molecular and physiological biomonitoring based on the antioxidant defense enzyme activities as biochemical biomarkers: superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase and the concentrations of vitamin E, vitamin C, glutathione.

2) Toxicology. Prooxidative effects of cadmium and cisplatin in acute and chronic treatment and protective role of antioxidants on alteration of oxidative stress biochemical biomarkers in the blood and tissues of mail Wistar albino rats will be investigated.

3) Biomarkers and pathophysiological states. The study of estradiol and its role inpreeclampsia, the assessment of oxidative damage and antioxidative capacity of healthy tissues in response to therapeutic doses of radiation in the treatment of breast cancer and the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders will be investigated.

The aim of the project is to assess the influence of heterogenity of abiotic and biotic environment at molecular, citological and morphological on variability, as well as variability of life history traits and behaviour, population structure and evolution processes (genetic specialisation, phenotype plasticity, speciation) of different organisms (vertebrates, invertebrates and plants). Achieved results will enable assessment of appropriate indicators of environmental devastation and will be included in phylogeographic analyses and ecological status evaluation of the ecosystems in region and Europe.

The amphibians and reptiles of the Balkan Peninsula included in the scope of the proposed research represent a "natural laboratory" and excellent model-system for both evolutionary and conservation studies. These vertebrates are characterised by low dispersal abilities and mostly strict ecological requirements, resulting in high evolutionary differentiation and intraspecific variation in their morphology, genetics, life history and ecology. The specificity of the Balkans with its complex paleogeographic history, heterogeneous landscapes, topographic diversity and climatic variation, resulted in a complex picture of amphibian and reptile diversity. Moreover, the Balkans are the origin of numerous taxa, an area of high endemicity, high rate of allopatric and parapatric speciation, and numerous hybridization zones. By combining data from natural populations and experimental studies, we propose to examine the following issues in evolutionary biology: (1) the evolution of complex morphological entities, (2) the evolution of life-history traits, (3) phylogeographic patterns of evolutionary lineages, and (4) the relation between eco-geographical and environmental variables as a function of the distribution of species, phylogenetic lineages and hybrid zones. Conservation research studies will be related to the recognition of evolutionary significant units, and to population ecology studies as a basis for further conservation strategies of autochthonous populations and species.

In modern biology there are two alternative experimental approaches for the study of different phenomena, which impact the evolution of living being – laboratory evolution and investigations in the wild.

LABORATORY EVOLUTION

Laboratory evolution allows the study of populations across multiple generations under strictly defined and reproducible conditions, but without the direct choice of reproducing individuals by the experimenter, in contrast to natural populations, where environmental conditions can be an efficient evolutionary factor that produces adaptations.

By employing "laboratory natural selection" as a tool to investigate determinants of life-history evolution, four types of laboratory populations of the seed beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, have been established (each type was replicated four times and observed over 200 generations): populations selected at high (K) and low (r) larval densities (density-dependent selection), and populations in which selection was imposed on either early (E) or late (L) reproduction (age-specific selection). Using these populations, the future investigations will focus on the following topics: 1. The evolutionary outcomes of density-dependent and age–specific selection, 2. The quantitative-genetic basis of the life-history traits that respond to these two selection types, 3. The evolution of ageing and late life, 4. The evolution of pre-zygotic and post-zygotic reproductive isolation between populations within each selection regime.

The aim of the project is investigation of the effects of environmental agents on important physiological homeostatic system, immune system, of mouse-like rodents. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of immunomodulatory potential of two environmental xenobiotics (ubiquitous pollutant cadmium and anticoagulant warfarin, used for control of pest rodents) is investigated in laboratory populations of Norway rat ( Rattus norvegicus). The effect of these agents on immune system is analyzed using parameters of basal immune activity and in settings of immune response induction as well. Distinct aspect is examination of the impact of these agents on laboratory rat's resistance to opportunistic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Wild Norway rats harbor variety of parasites and microorganisms and are thus considered as natural biological models suitable for examination of immune function in settings of multiple infections. Analysis of basic parameters of immune function as well as immune-mediated damage of peripheral tissues of Norway rats from urban environment and comparison with same parameters in several laboratory strains of Norway rats gives insight into the effect of the environment on immunity.

The Balkan Peninsula, where Serbia is situated, is a dendroflora diversity centre (IUCN), home to forests comprised of relict, endemic, economically important (or potentially important) and endangered forest species, unique in time and space. Serbia's gorges, canyon valleys and mountain massifs represent particularly rich reservoirs and treasure troves of the genofund. It is these refugia that have enabled the preservation and reproduction of the rich and varied flora, particularly tertiary relicts and endemorelicts, and represent veritable museums in vivo of special scientific importance. The diversity of small local populations is also of particular importance, as is the diversity of those on the edges of forest belts, the most sensitive parts of the ecosystem. The project presumes that the autochthonous forest flora and vegetation of our part of the Balkan Peninsula contain populations whose presence, specific genetic structure, chemical composition, morphophysiological and reproductive characteristics reveal the history of the vegetation and contribute to a better understanding of the plants' adaptive potential to survive in adverse environmental conditions.