Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Faculty of Agriculture Department of Plant Protection faculty member Prof. Dr. Sebahat Sullivan's project within the scope of 2532 TUBITAK Russian Basic Research Foundation (RFBR) Bilateral Cooperation Call was among the top 10 in 131 projects.

Dr. Sullivan's project titled "Evolutionary Patterns of Acariform Mites in Tracheophytes: Mechanisms of Synchrony Development in Gal-Forming Eriophyoid Mites," for which she applied with the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, will be supported by a budget of 722 thousand TL from Turkey and 78 thousand dollars from Russia.

The project, supported by being included in the top 10 projects among 131 projects applied in fields such as medicine, technology, and armament in both countries, will be carried out between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2024.

Dr. Sullivan (coordinator) and Prof. Dr. Güray Kutbay (researcher) are the Turkey team of the project, and the Russian team consists of Dr. Philipp Chetverikov (coordinator), and researchers Dr. Viktoria Letukhova, Dr. Sogdiana I. Sukhareva, Dr. Galina Y. Konechnaya, Prof. Alexey Desnitskiy, Dr. Anna E. Romanovich.

About the Project

The project aims to reveal the evolutionary mechanism in the formation of symbiotic relationships between higher vascular plants and the Eriophyoidea superfamily mites living on these plants in phytoparasitic systems.

Eriophyoid mite species found on thirteen plant species (especially hazelnut, which is very important economically, walnut, cherry, linden, poplar, willow, alder, maple, ash, beech, hornbeam, birch, and rowan) from Türkiye and Russia will be scanned in order to find new species. Then, these species will be described with classical and modern techniques, and the phylogenetic relationships between them will be revealed. Thus, an eriophyoid atlas will be created for each country in terms of the plant species screened.

Molecular studies of the project will be carried out at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, while confocal laser scanning microscope studies will be carried out at St. Petersburg University. Thanks to the original data obtained from the study, some vital information will be obtained about the evolutionary mechanisms of a taxon that lives in harmony with its host, most of which is specialized for its host. These data will provide the opportunity to understand the mechanisms and predict the future damage and spread of the plant pest taxon.