THE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT, MODERN STATE AND PERSPECTIVE DIRECTIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH IN THE RUSSIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF FLORICULTURE AND SUBTROPICAL CROPS

The paper shows development stages in Biotechnology Department of the Russian Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops (c. Sochi, Russia). The main directions of biotechnology research are considered since the foundation of Virology Laboratory, (then it was renamed to Tissue Culture and Virology Laboratory) and till the present time. There is also information about the researchers who have made a significant contribution to biotechnology development at the Institute. The beginning of creating Virology Laboratory is connected with the name of Kozitsky Yu. N., Cand. Biol. Sci., and this research period was characterized by the development of methods used for diagnosing viral diseases and recovering from viruses in flower cultures planting material. The paper also shows promising and competitive research areas at Biotechnology Department and Molecular and Cell Breeding Laboratory which exist currently and are planed for the future.