Dr. Gintaras Brazauskas

ORCiD iD: 0000-0002-8048-8880
Mob. +370 687 33 839 
E-mail: gintaras.brazauskas@lammc.lt
Instituto al. 1, Akademija, LT-58343 Kėdainiai distr., Lithuania

Education 

1999–2004 PhD studies, Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. PhD degree in Agronomy issued by the Lithuanian University of Agriculture (since 2019 Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy).

1997–1999 Master studies, Vytautas Magnus University. Master degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

1993–1997 Bachelor studies, Vytautas Magnus University. Bachelor degree in Biology.

Academic degrees and pedagogical titles

2004 Doctor in Agronomy Science, dissertation topic “Development of winter wheat doubled halpoids in wheat x maize crosses”. 

Research fields

• Plant adaptation gene identification and expression analysis
• DNA marker development and application in cereal and perennial grass breeding
• Doubled haploid production in wheat via wheat x maize crossing
• Plant phenotyping system development and implementation

Professional experience

Since 2018 Director, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry.

2016–2018 Director, Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC.

Since 2014 Chief Researcher, Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC.

2007–2015 Head of the Laboratory of Genetics and Physiology, Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC.

2007–2013 Senior Researcher, Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC.

2002–2007 Researcher, Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture.

1999–2004 PhD student, Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture.

1998–1999 Technician, Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture.

Memberships and affiliations with professional organizations

• Member of the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA), Lithuania representative in Eucarpia.
• Member of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO) Agricultural Technologies working group.
• Senate member of the Vytautas Magnus University.
• Board member of “RTO Lithuania” association.
• Member of Lithuanian Scientists Union.
• Associate Editor for the scientific journal “Zemdirbyste-Agriculture”.

In-service training

• September 29, 2010  – June 25, 2011 Iowa State University of Science and Technology, U.S.A., “Development  of DNA Markers for Cellulosic Ethanol Production” (Fulbright Scholarship).
• March 1  – May 31, 2005 Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Denmark, EU FP5 project.
• “GRASP” (SNP marker development in ryegrass).
• July 7 – September 12, 2003 Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Denmark, EU FP5 project.
• GRASP“ (SNP marker development in ryegrass).
• October 13–20, 2002 University of Wales, UK, short term scientific visit.
• October 1, 2001 – February 28, 2002 Riso National Laboratory, Denmark, CIRIUS training.
• fellowship for 5 months “Analysis of wheat haploid lines by AFLP”.
• June 28 – July 9, 2000 Agricultural Biotechnology Center (Godollo), Hungary, UNESCO/BAC.
• mini symposium and training course “Functional Genomics”.
• February 1–6, 1999 The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark, Nordic-Baltic.
• PhD student course “Biotechnology in Plant Breeding”.

Involvement in programmes and projects

• 2021–2023 “NOBALwheat – breeding toolbox for sustainable food system of the NOrdic BALtic region”, leader.

• 2017–2021 High level R&D project (SMART) funded by the Lithuanian Research Council “Development of winter wheat varieties for amylose-free starch and vital gluten processing”, leader.

• 2015–2018 Development of Molecular markers for Genomic Selection of Adaptation in Perennial Ryegrass (ADAPTGENAS), Research Council of Lithuania, leader.
• 2014–2020 Perennial Ryegrass Breeding Research in Nordic and Baltic Countries, coordinator in the Institute of Agriculture.
• 2012–2014 Development of Functional Markers for Plant Architecture Genes (FUMAG), Research Council of Lithuania, supervisor.
• 2008–2010 Population Genetic Analysis of Pest Insects, Mites and Fungi of Economic Importance in the Baltic Region (Genūkis), Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, participant.
• 2008–2010 Plant Biomass Energy Value Enhancement by Biotechnology Methods (BIOMASS for BIOGAS), Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, leader.
• 2007–2009 Wheat for Biopolymer Production (KVIETPOLIMER), Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, participant.
• 2002–2006 EU FP5 Development of Ryegrass Allele-Specific (GRASP) Markers for Sustainable Grassland Improvement, participant.
• 2001–2006 COST 851 Gametic Cells and Molecular Breeding for Crop Improvement.

Supervision of PhD studies

• 2012–2016 Scientific Supervisor of the PhD student Andrius Aleliūnas scientific work “Identification of functional markers for freezing tolerance in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)”. Dissertation defended in 2017.
• 2011–2014 Scientific Supervisor of the PhD student Agnė Piliponytė-Dzikienė scientific work “Populations structure composition and dynamics of the blackleg causal fungi Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa”. Dissertation defended in 2014.
• 2011–2014 Scientific Supervisor of the PhD student Rita Armonienė mokslinio scientific work “Freezing tolerance in winter wheat: gene identification and analysis”. Dissertation defended in 2014.

Plant varieties developed

• 2018 Winter wheat variety ‘Minija DS’ co-author.
• 2016 Winter wheat variety ‘Herkus DS’ co-author.
• 2015 Winter wheat variety ‘Gaja DS’ co-author.
• 2015 Winter wheat variety ‘Sedula DS’ co-author.
• 2011 Winter wheat variety ‘Vikaras DS’ co-author.
• 2011 Winter wheat variety ‘Kaskada DS’ co-author.
• 2010 Winter wheat variety ‘Kovas DS’ co-author.
• 2010 Winter wheat variety ‘Zunda DS’ co-author.

MAJOR RESEARCH OUTPUTS

Articles in journals indexed in Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database

1. Cesevičienė J., Gorash A., Liatukas Ž., Armonienė R., Ruzgas V., Statkevičiūtė G., Jaškūnė K., Brazauskas G. 2022. Grain yield performance and quality characteristics of waxy and non-waxy winter wheat cultivars under high and low-input farming systems. Plants, 11 (7): 882. IF – 4,658

2. Jaškūnė K., Armonienė R., Liatukas Ž., Statkevičiūtė G., Cesevičienė J., Brazauskas G. 2022. Relationship between freezing tolerance and leaf growth during acclimation in winter wheat. Agronomy, 12 (4): 859. IF – 3,949

3. Statkevičiūtė G., Liatukas Ž., Cesevičienė J., Jaškūnė K., Armonienė R., Kuktaite R., Brazauskas G. 2022. Impact of combined drought and heat stress and nitrogen on winter wheat productivity and end-use quality. Agronomy, 12 (6): 1452. IF – 3,949
4. Alemu A., Brazauskas G., Gaikpa D. S., Henriksson T., Islamov B., Jørgensen L. N., Koppel M., Koppel R., Liatukas Ž., Jan T. Svensson J. T., Chawade A. 2021. Genome-wide association analysis and genomic prediction for adult-plant resistance to septoria tritici blotch and powdery mildew in winter wheat. Frontiers in Genetics, 12: 661742. IF – 4,772
5. Liatukas Ž., Ruzgas V., Gorash A., Cecevičienė J., Armonienė R., Statkevičiūtė G., Jaškūnė K., Brazauskas G. 2021. Development of the new waxy winter wheat cultivars Eldija and Sarta. Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 57: 149−157. IF – 1,304
6. Kumar D., Kushwaha S., Delvento C., Liatukas Ž., Vivekanand V., Svensson J. T., Henriksson T., Brazauskas G., Chawade A. 2020. Affordable phenotyping of winter wheat under field and controlled conditions for drought tolerance. Agronomy, 10 (6): 882. IF – 3,417
   
7. Aleliūnas A., Jaškūnė K., Statkevičiūtė G., Vaitkevičiūtė G., Brazauskas G., Armonienė R. 2020. Transcriptome changes triggered by a short-term low temperature stress in winter wheat. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 107 (4): 329–336.  IF – 1,083
   
8. Yates S., Jaškūnė K., Liebisch F., Nagelmüller S., Kirchgessner N., Kölliker R., Walter A., Brazauskas G., Studer B. 2019. Phenotyping a dynamic trait: leaf growth of perennial ryegrass under water limiting conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10: 344. IF – 4,402
9. Helgadóttir Á., Aavola R., Isolahti M., Marum P., Persson C., Aleliūnas A., Brazauskas G., Krisjánsdóttir T. A., Asp T., Rognli O. A. 2018. Adaptability and phenotypic stability of Lolium perenne cultivars of diverse origin grown at the margin of the species distribution. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 204 (5): 493–504. IF – 2,960
10. Chawade A., Armonienė R., Berg G., Brazauskas G., Frostgård G., Geleta M., Gorash A., Henriksson T., Himanen K., Ingver A., Johansson E., Jørgensen L. N., Koppel M., Koopel R., Makela P., Otriz R., Podyma W., Roitsch T., Ronis A., Svensson J. T., Wallenback P., Weih M. 2018. A transnational and holistic breeding approach is needed for sustainable wheat production in the Baltic Sea region. Physiologia Plantarum, 67 (4): 442–451. IF – 3,000
11. Statkevičiūtė G., Kemešytė V., Aleliūnas A., Jonavičienė K., Brazauskas G. 2018. LpBRI1polymorphism association with flag leaf architecture in perennial ryegrass. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 105 (1): 33–38. IF – 1,020
12. Ruzgas V., Liatukas Ž., Razbadauskienė K., Koppel R., Brazauskas G. 2017. The new winter wheat cultivars ‘Kena DS’, ‘Gaja DS’, ‘Sedula DS’ and ‘Herkus DS’: for increased yield stability. Zemdirbystė-Agriculture, 104 (4): 291–298. IF – 0,746

13. Dabkevičienė G., Kemešytė V., Statkevičiūtė G., Lemežienė N., Brazauskas G. 2017. Autopolyploids in fodder grass breeding: induction and field performance. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 15 (4): e0706. IF – 0,811

14. Gorash A., Armonienė R., Liatukas Ž., Brazauskas G. 2017. The relationship among freezing tolerance, vernalization requirement, Ppd alleles and winter hardiness in European wheat cultivars. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 155 (9): 1353–1370. IF – 1,186
15. Kemešytė V., Statkevičiūtė G., Brazauskas G. 2017. Perennial ryegrass yield performance under abiotic stress. Crop Science, 57 (4): 1935–1940. IF – 1,635
16. Bednarska I., Brazauskas G. 2017. Festuca galiciensis, a new species of the F. valesiaca group (Poaceae) from Ukraine. Phytotaxa, 306 (1): 21–36. IF – 1,185
17. Statkevičiūtė G., Aleliūnas A., Kemešytė V., Pašakinskienė I., Lübberstedt T., Brazauskas G. 2015. Association analysis of five candidate genes with plant height and dry matter yield in perennial ryegrass. Plant Breeding, 134 (4): 454–460. IF – 1,502
18. Piliponytė-Dzikienė A., Andriūnaitė E., Petraitienė E., Brazauskienė I., Statkevičiūtė G., Brazauskas G. 2015. Genetic diversity and occurrence of Leptosphaeria spp. on Brassica oleracea and B. napus in Lithuania.  Journal of Plant Pathology, 97 (2): 265–271. IF – 1,038
19. Aleliūnas A., Jonavičienė K., Statkevičiūtė G., Vaitiekūnaitė D., Kemešytė V., Lübberstedt T., Brazauskas G. 2015. Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in LpIRI1 gene with freezing tolerance traits in perennial ryegrass. Euphytica, 204 (3): 523–534. IF – 1,618
20. Jonavičienė K., Statkevičiūtė G., Kemešytė V., Brazauskas G. 2014. Genetic and phenotypic diversity for drought tolerance in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 101 (4): 411–418. IF – 0,420
21. Piliponytė-Dzikienė A., Kaczmarek J., Petraitienė E., Kasprzyk I., Brazauskienė I., Brazauskas G., Jędryczka M. 2014. Microscopic and molecular detection of Leptosphaeria maculans and biglobosa ascospore content in air samples. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 101 (3): 303–312. IF – 0,420
22. Brazauskas G., Xing Y., Studer B., Schejbel B., Frei U., Berg P.R., Lübberstedt T. 2013. Identification of genomic loci associated with crown rust resistance in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) divergently selected populations. Plant Science, 208: 34–41. IF – 4,114
23. Armonienė R., Jonavičienė K., Ruzgas V., Brazauskas G. 2013. Isolation of differentially expressed genes in wheat caryopses with contrasting starch granule size. Central European Journal of Biology, 8 (3): 297–305. IF – 0,633
24. Armonienė R., Liatukas Ž., Brazauskas G. 2013. Evaluation of freezing tolerance of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under controlled conditions and in the field. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 100 (4): 417–424. IF – 0,523
25. Brazauskienė I., Petraitienė E., Brazauskas G., Ronis A. 2013. Susceptibility of winter rape cultivars to fungal diseases and their response to fungicide application. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 37 (6): 699–710. IF – 0,914
26. Statkevičiūtė G., Jonavičienė K., Semaškienė R., Leistrumaitė A., Dabkevičius Z., Brazauskas G. 2012. Population structure of the barley pathogen Pyrenophora teres f. teres in Lithuania. Journal of Plant Pathology, 94 (3): 601–608. IF – 0,688
27. Jonavičienė K., Studer B., Asp T., Jensen L. B., Paplauskienė V., Lazauskas S., Brazauskas G. 2012. Identification of genes involved in a 6-days water deprivation response in timothy and mapping of orthologous loci in perennial ryegrass. Biologia Plantarum, 56 (3): 47–483. IF – 1,692
28. Brazauskienė I., Petraitienė E., Piliponytė A., Brazauskas G. 2012. The peculiarities of phoma stem canker (Leptosphaeria maculans/ L. biglobosa complex) infections in winter and spring oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 99 (4): 379–386. IF – 0,567
29. Liatukas Ž., Ruzgas V., Razbadauskienė K., Brazauskas G., Koppel R. 2012. Winter wheat cultivars ‘Kovas DS‘, ‘Zunda DS‘, ‘Vikaras DS‘, ‘Kaskada DS‘ for high input farming: development and Characterization. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 99 (3): 255–264. IF – 0,567
30. Brazauskienė I., Petraitienė E., Brazauskas G., Semaškienė R. 2011. Medium-term trends in dark leaf and pod spot epidemics in Brassica napus and Brassica rapa in Lithuania, Journal of Plant Diseases and Plant Protection, 118 (6): 197–207. IF – 0,489
31. Brazauskienė I., Piliponytė A., Petraitienė E., Brazauskas G. 2011. Diversity of Leptosphaeria maculans/L. biglobosa species complex and epidemiology of phoma stem canker on oilseed rape in Lithuania. Journal of Plant Pathology, 93 (3): 577–585. IF – 0,912
32. Brazauskas G., Lenk I., Pedersen M. G., Studer B., Lübberstedt T. 2011. Genetic variation, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium in European elite germplasm of perennial ryegrass. Plant Science, 181 (4): 412–420. IF – 2,945
33. Brazauskas G., Pašakinskienė I., Asp T., Lübberstedt T. 2010. Nucleotide diversity and linkage disequilibrium in five Lolium perenne genes with putative role in shoot morphology. Plant Science, 179 (3): 194–201. IF – 2,481
34. Statkevičiūtė G., Brazauskas G., Semaškienė R., Leistrumaitė A., Dabkevičius Z. 2010. Pyrenophora teres genetic diversity as detected by ISSR analysis. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, 97 (4): 91–98. IF – 0,232
35. Studer B., Jensen L.B., Hentrup S., Brazauskas G., Kolliker R., Lubberstedt T. 2008. Genetic characterisation of seed yield and fertility traits in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 117 (5): 781–791. IF – 3,490
36. Brazauskas G., Pašakinskienė I., Jahoor A. 2004. AFLP analysis indicates no introgression of maize DNA in wheat × maize crosses. Plant Breeding, 123 (2): 117–121. IF – 0,941

Monographs, books, textbooks and their sections published by international publishers

1. Breeding Grasses and Protein Crops in the Era of Genomics / Eds. Gintaras Brazauskas, Gražina Statkevičiūtė, Kristina Jonavičienė. Springer, 2018,  267 p. ISBN 978-3-319-89577-2
2. Aleliūnas A., Brazauskas G. 2018. Testing for freezing tolerance in perennial ryegrass. G. Brazauskas et al. (eds.): Breeding Grasses and Protein Crops in the Era of Genomics. Springer, p. 231–236.
3. Rongli O. A., Aavola R., Aleliūnas A., Asp T., Brazauskas G., Gylstrøm K. H., Helgadottir A., Isolahti M., Kovi M. R., Kristjánsdóttir A., Larsen A.S., Marum P., Paina C., Persson C., Rancãne S. 2018. Utilization of genebank accessions to improve northern adaptation of perennial ryegrass. G. Brazauskas et al. (eds.): Breeding Grasses and Protein Crops in the Era of Genomics. Springer, p. 3–8.
4. Jonavičienė K., Yates S., Nagelmüller S., Liebisch F., Kirchgessner N., Walter A., Brazauskas G., Studer B. 2016. Real-Time Growth Analysis of Perennial Ryegrass Under Water Limiting Conditions. In Breeding in a World of Scarcity. Eds: Roldán-Ruiz Isabel, Baert Joost, Reheul Dirk. Springer, p. 105–109.
5. Statkevičiūtė G., Aleliūnas A., Kemešytė V., Brazauskas G. 2016. Association Analysis of Candidate Genes with Tillering in Perennial Ryegrass. In Breeding in a World of Scarcity. Eds: Roldán-Ruiz Isabel, Baert Joost, Reheul Dirk. Springer, p. 117–120.
6. Kemešytė V., Statkevičiūtė G., Aleliūnas A., Brazauskas G. 2016. Variation for Plant Architecture Traits Within a Perennial Ryegrass Association Mapping Population. In Breeding in a World of Scarcity. Eds: Roldán-Ruiz Isabel, Baert Joost, Reheul Dirk. Springer, p. 41–45.
7. Julier B., Barre P., Gastal F., Ghesquière M., Litrico I., Louarn G., Sampoux J.-P., Aleliūnas A., Brazauskas G., Carita T.,  Carneiro J. P., Simões N., Fragoso de Almeida J. P., Duarte I., Cougnon M., Riday H. 2016. Breeding Ideas Presented During the Meeting. In Breeding in a World of Scarcity. Eds: Roldán-Ruiz Isabel, Baert Joost, Reheul Springer, p. 321–328.
8. Aleliūnas A., Statkevičiūtė G., Jonavičienė K., Kemešytė V., Brazauskas G. 2015. Evaluation of perennial ryegrass association mapping population for freezing tolerance traits. In Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf. Eds. Budak H., Spangenberg G., Springer Dordrecht, p. 9–18.
9. Jonavičienė K., Abeynayake S., Brazauskas G., Asp T. 2014. Validation of candidate genes expression profiles during cold acclimation and freezing in perennial ryegrass. In Quantitative Traits Breeding for Multifunctional Grasslands and Turf. Eds. Sokolovic D., Huyghe C., Radovic J., Springer Dordrecht, p. 273–278.
10. Statkevičiūtė G., Aleliūnas A., Kemešytė V., Pašakinskienė I., Brazauskas G. 2014. AFLP analysis of genetic diversity in an association mapping panel of Lolium perenne L. In Quantitative Traits Breeding for Multifunctional Grasslands and Turf. Eds. Sokolovic D., Huyghe C., Radovic J., Springer Dordrecht, p. 285–289.
11. Kemešytė V., Statkevičiūtė G., Lemežienė N., Brazauskas G., Ivanciv R. 2014. Morphological variation between perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) natural ecotypes. In Quantitative Traits Breeding for Multifunctional Grasslands and Turf. Eds. Sokolovic D., Huyghe C., Radovic J., Springer Dordrecht, p. 81–84.
12. Brazauskas G., Pašakinskienė I., Lübberstedt T. 2013. Estimation of temporal allele frequency changes in ryegrass populations selected for axillary tiller formation. In Breeding Strategies for Sustainable Forage and Turf Grass Improvement. Eds. Barth S., Milbourne D., Springer Dordrecht, p. 81–87.
13. Armonienė R., Stukonis V., Paplauskienė V., Brazauskas G. 2010. The genetic diversity of fine-leaved fescue (Festuca L.) species in Lithuania. In Sustainable Use of Genetic Diversity in Forage and Turf Breeding. Eds. Huyghe C., Springer Dordrecht, p. 41–45.