This is the latest installment in our series of news features on the projects of the International Research School 2026.
As the world’s largest administrative region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) spans over 3 million square kilometers. Across this vast, harsh landscape, 2,000 species of higher plants have not only survived but thrived, developing remarkable physiological and biochemical adaptations. These include the production of protective essential oils, the synthesis of cold-shock proteins, and changes in the expression of resistance genes. A key element in these survival strategies is lipids—a diverse group of organic compounds crucial for numerous cellular functions.
This project, titled "Bioindicator Plants: What Can They Tell Us About the Ecology of the North?", will harness these natural adaptations to tackle environmental monitoring. It is set to investigate how these plants can serve as early warning systems for ecological stress. The research will focus on studying changes in the composition of pigments and fatty acids in potential bioindicator plants. By comparing specimens from pristine natural environments with those growing near industrial facilities in Central Yakutia, the team aims to enable a rapid assessment of the territory's ecological condition.
The project's core scientific goal is to identify a clear relationship between visible signs of plant stress and underlying biochemical shifts, specifically in the qualitative and quantitative content of lipids and pigments. The experimental workflow is carefully designed. It begins with the collection of plant material from 3–4 selected species. In the laboratory, dried samples will undergo extraction using chloroform and methanol, followed by evaporation and methylation. Advanced analytical techniques, including gas chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and spectrophotometry, will then be employed to analyze the samples.
In the final phase, the data will be processed using UniChrom software for chromatographic results, with statistical analysis performed in Excel. The project will conclude with participants presenting their comprehensive findings at a final conference before a panel of experts, showcasing how fundamental plant science can be applied to pressing environmental challenges.
Guiding this research are two distinguished tutors. Venedikt Kudrin, a graduate of the Republican Boarding Lyceum and winner of regional biology competitions, is a methodologist at the Junior Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). He is an Olympiad coach and a current intern at the Institute of Biological Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he studies lipid metabolism in cereal crops under low-temperature stress.
His co-tutor, Alexander Semenov, brings a complementary expertise. A graduate of the Biology Faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University, he also holds degrees from the Russian State Agrarian University and North-Eastern Federal University. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone, his research interests span vertebrate zoology, evolutionary biology, and comparative morphology, backed by participation in paleontological expeditions and co-authorship of scientific articles.
For more details, visit the official project page  https://irschool.org/project_experimentalbiology.