Guranda Gvaladze

Guranda E. Gvaladze (Georgian: გურანდა ღვალაძე) (born June 23, 1932, in Tbilisi) is a distinguished Georgian botanist, one of the founders of the Georgian scientific school of Plant Embryology, Doctor of Biological Sciences (1973),and Professor (1991).

She was born in Tbilisi, to the family of a famous Georgian jurist and public benefactor Evgen Gvaladze (1900-1937).

In 1956 she graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the Tbilisi State University (TSU).

From 1956-1959 Gvaladze was a Post-Graduate Student of the N.Ketskhoveli Institute of Botany of the Georgian Academy of Sciences (GAS), from 1959-2003: Research Fellow (1959-1966); Senior Research Fellow (1966-1982); Head of the Department of Cultural Plants (1982-1990); Founder and Head of the Department of Plant Embryology (now Laboratory of Plant Reproduction) (1990-2003) of this Institute. Since 2003 she has been Chief Research Fellow of the Department of Plant Reproduction. In 1962 she received a PhD degree in Biology; in 1973 a degree of the Doctor of Biological Sciences; and in 1991 the scientific title of Professor.

In 1998 Guranda Gvaladze was elected as Academician of the Abkhazian Regional Academy of Sciences (based in Tbilisi).

In 1990 she received the International S. Navashin Medal "For outstanding contribution in Plant Embryology". She is listed in the Encyclopedic work "Embryology of Flowering Plants: Terminology and Concepts" (in 3 volumes, St.Petersburg, 1994-2000) as a Classic of Plant Embryology. Gvaladze is a member of: the International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction Research/IASPRR (The Netherlands), the International Organization of Plant Information/IOPI (U.S.), the European Association on Promotion of Science and Technologies/EUROSCIENCE (France), the Scientific Council of the Georgian Botanical Society (Tbilisi).

Guranda Gvaladze's main fields of scientific activity are: Double Fertilization of Angiosperms and other important questions of Plant Embryology, Plant Cytology and Apomixis, etc. She is the author of the well-known hypothesis about the role of the Chalazal Polar Nucleus in the Double Fertilization and Consideration about the biological nature of polarization of the Embryo Sac (1976). She is author of more than 180 scientific-research publications (among them 3 monographs and 1 textbook).

Some of "main" scientific works of Guranda Gvaladze

* "Forms of Apomixis in the genus "Allium L."- In: S.S. Khokhlov (Ed.), "Apomixis and Breeding", Amerind Pub., New Delhi-Bombay-Calcutta-New York, 1976, pp. 160-165
* "The Chalazal Polar Nucleus of the Central Cell of Angiosperm Embryo Sac" (a monograph), Publishing House "Metsniereba", Tbilisi, 1976, 138 pp. (in Russian, English summary)
* "Asynchronous Division in Embryo and Endosperm in "Liliaceae".- Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, Delhi, B45, No 6, 1979, pp. 596-604
* "Gamets, Fertilization and Reproduction of Plants", Publishing House "Znanie", Moscow, 1981, 65 pp. (in Russian)
* "Ultrastructural study of Embryo Sac of "Galanthus Nivalis L."- "Fertilization and Embryogenesis in Ovalated Plants", VEDA, Bratislava, 1983, pp. 203-205
* "Is the Poligonum-type Embryo Sac primitive?" - J. Phytomorphology, Delhi (India), 40 (3&4), 1990, pp. 331-337 (Co-author: M.Sh. Akhalkatsi)
* "Double Fertilization in "Peperomia Pellucida".- J. Phytomorphology, 48 (4), 1998, pp. 405-409 (Co-author: M.Sh. Akhalkatsi)
* "Chromatin Diminution during Endosperm Development in "Allium atroviolaceum Boiss. (Alliaceae)".- Bulletin of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, 166, No 3, 2002, pp. 537-540 (Co-authors: N. Nadirashvili and M. Akhalkatsi. In English)
* "Embryology of "Gentiana angulosa" and "G.Pontica (Gentianaceae)".- Proc. Georgian Acad. Sci., Biol. Ser. B, vol. 2, No 1-2, 2004, pp. 29-34 (Co-authors: M. Akhalkatsi, M. Gachechiladze and N. Taralashvili. In English).

See also

* List of Georgians
* List of botanists

External links

* [http://www.acnet.ge/botany.htm N.Ketskhoveli Institute of Botany]