BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i. (BC)

The Biology Centre of the ASCR was established by a resolution of the XXVIIth session of the Academy Assembly of the ASCR on 15 December 2005.On the basis of this resolution, effective from 1 January 2006, five research institutes of the ASCR located in České Budějovice merged with the Joint Technical and Administrative Service of the Biological Institutes of the ASCR.

The Biology Centre of the ASCR has become Public Research Institution (v. v. i.) since 1.1.2007.

The Biology Centre of the ASCR, v. v. i. is comprised of the following organisational parts:

• Institute of Entomology
• Institute of Hydrobiology
• Institute of Parasitology
• Institute of Plant Molecular Biology
• Institute of Soil Biology
• Technical and Administrative Service

Brochure about the Biology Centre

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., INSTITUTE OF ENTOMOLOGY (IE)

WWW: http://www.entu.cas.cz

The Institute was founded in 1962 by merging the Laboratory of Entomology (created in 1954) of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences with the Department of Insect Pathology established in 1953 within the former Institute of Biology of the Academy. The Institute became an organisational part of the Biology Centre of the ASCR as of 1 January 2006.

The Institute performs basic and applied research in areas, in which insects are either in the focus of attention (e.g., insect pests) or serve as suitable models for the solution of general biological problems. Most of the investigations, which range from molecular and cytological studies to the monitoring of complex ecosystems, are components of the five following research themes:

• Mechanisms of morphogenesis (chromosome structure and function, chromatin, transcription factors, hormone action).
• Neurohumoral regulation of biorhythms and life cycles (interactions between environmental factors and endogenous rhythms, molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythmicity, genetic control of biorhythms, correlations between diapause and cold acclimation).
• Principles and mechanisms of biodiversity (insect taxonomy, molecular evolution, population genetics).
• The role of insects in the structure and function of selected ecosystems (conservation research in selected Central European and tropical ecosystems, mathematical modelling of ecological processes, use of aquatic insects as bioindicators of environmental changes).
• Biological control of insect pests and disease vectors (genetic methods, biorational pesticides, pathogens, predators and parasitoids) and environmental aspects of the use of genetically modified crops.

The Institute co-publishes the European Journal of Entomology.

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., INSTITUTE OF HYDROBIOLOGY (IHB)

WWW: http://www.hbu.cas.cz

The Institute was founded in 1990. The original hydrobiological unit was created in the early fifties and, from 1953, was part of the Institute of Biology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. After the division of that Institute, its hydrobiological section was incorporated into several other institutes of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. From 1967-1970, however, the Hydrobiological Laboratories of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences were an independent entity. In 1981, the Hydrobiological Laboratories were moved to České Budějovice and in 1990 it became an autonomous institute of the ASCR. The Institute became an organisational part of the Biology Centre of the ASCR as of 1 January 2006.

The Institute's work is based on a long-term project to study biological processes in water reservoirs. One of the most important subjects of research is eutrophication. Special attention is paid to biotic interactions in plankton assemblage including the microbial loop, the mechanism of influencing water blooms, phosphorus load and lake turnover. Another subject of research is the acidification of mountain lakes. Long-term studies are carried out on changes in the ionic composition of the water of rivers, lakes and reservoirs in connection with acid rain and fertilisation. The main goal of the research is elucidation of the basic environmental functions of the ecosystem in reservoirs, which are important for water quality management.

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., INSTITUTE OF PARASITOLOGY (IP)

WWW: http://www.paru.cas.cz

The Institute was formed in 1962 from the Department of Parasitology of the former Institute of Biology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and the Academy's Protozoological Laboratory. In 1985 it was moved from Prague to České Budějovice. The Institute became an organisational part of the Biology Centre of the ASCR as of 1 January 2006.

The Institute is engaged in research in the fields of protistology, helminthology and acaroentomology, including studies of some of the causative agents of diseases transmitted by arthropods.

It works principally in the following areas of study:

• Diversity, phylogeny and pathogenicity of fish parasites
• Molecular biology and functional genomics of parasitic protists and nematodes
• Biology of disease vectors and molecular interactions involved in pathogen transmission
• Molecular taxonomy, phylogeny of parasites, and host-parasite coevolution
• Parasitic protists of man and livestock with special reference to the causative agents of opportunistic diseases.

The Institute publishes the Folia Parasitologica.

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., INSTITUTE OF PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (IPMB)

WWW: http://www.umbr.cas.cz

The Institute was founded in 1990 through the division of the Institute of Experimental Botany into two separate units, one in Prague and the other in České Budějovice. The Institute became an organisational part of the Biology Centre of the ASCR as of 1 January 2006.

The research work of the Institute ranges from plant molecular biology to agri-ecological studies, and is concerned primarily with plant genetic engineering, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, molecular genetics and the diagnosis of plant viruses and viroids, biophysics and the physiology of photosynthesis. The Institute participates in applied research in the field of plant biotechnology.

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., INSTITUTE OF SOIL BIOLOGY (ISB)

WWW: http://www.upb.cas.cz

The Institute was founded as of 1 January 1986 from the Laboratory of Soil Biology, which had existed within the framework of the former Institute of the Landscape Ecology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences from 1979. The Institute became an organisational part of the Biology Centre of the ASCR as of 1 January 2006.

The Institute carries out research in all important fields of soil biology and ecology, from the molecular level up to the level of ecosystems, and is also concerned with basic problems relating to the formation, fertility and regeneration of soil. The research focuses in particular on studies of the structure of soil organism communities and their role in ecosystem processes. It does this by investigating the interactions between soil microorganisms and animals and by studying the interactions between soil biota and abiotic and biotic structures and processes in soil. An important pursuit of research includes examining the impact of anthropogenic effects on the soil component of ecosystems.

BIOLOGY CENTRE ASCR, v. v. i., TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE (TAS)

The Technical and Administrative Service (TAS) provides the infrastructure of the Biology Centre of the ASCR, v. v. i., in particular: administration, dealing with labour law matters, accountancy, maintenance and security of real property, investments, non-public accommodation services. The TAS also operates a joint biological library, common lecture halls, catering and other activities related to the operation of research Institutes.