Laboratory of Physiology

Scientific Head: Igor Igorevich Pushchin, senior researcher, Cand. Sci. Biol.

Former Scientific Head (2000-2020): Sergei L’vovich Kondrashev, leading researcher, Cand. Sci. Biol.

Main fields of research:

• Cellular and molecular mechanisms of adaptation of marine fish and invertebrates to the environment.
• Mechanisms of animal vision and visual behavior.

The main research methods are light and electron microscopy, spectrophotometry, physical and chemical analysis of trace elements and heavy metals, and behavioral experiments. The geographical scope of research is generally limited to the coastal zone of the Russian Far East.

The laboratory is equipped with light microscopes, spectrophotometers, and histological facilities. The laboratory has at its disposal the research facilities and equipment at the Vostok Marine Biological Station. The laboratory’s researchers actively use the instrumentation of the Shared Resource Center “Far Eastern Center of Electronic Microscopy”, NSCMB FEB RAS.

The laboratory’s research staff successfully collaborates with Russian and foreign colleagues in the following fields:

• reproductive adaptations of bottom invertebrates (sea urchins, bivalves, crustaceans) with a pelagic planktotrophic larva;
• structural and physiological adaptations of the visual system and visual signal processing in marine vertebrates;
• comparative studies of the retinal structure, spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors, and molecular genetics of visual opsin proteins in fish of the Sea of Japan.

The Laboratory’s researchers participate in prestigious national and international conferences and direct undergraduate and master student studies.

The laboratory’s publications include papers in influential international scientific journals.

Information provided by the senior researcher S.L. Kondrashev.