GENETIC DIVERSITY AND DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION OF KAZAKHSTAN'S FLORA

Kazakhstan, with its expansive and diverse climate zones, boasts a rich and varied flora, featuring around 6,000 vascular species, including approximately 10% that are endemic. Effective management and study of this diverse flora requires continuous monitoring and inventory using advanced botanical, molecular genetic and bioinformatics techniques. This research focuses on exploring the genetic diversity within Kazakhstan's flora and establishing a comprehensive information database. Under Program 0237/PTF (2015-2017), efforts began to assess the genetic diversity of endemic, rare, endangered, and economically significant plant species of Kazakhstan. As part of grant АР05131621, an open-access web resource was developed, offering botanical and genetic data on Kazakhstan's flora. This database includes detailed botanical information on around 500 species. Ongoing research into the genetic diversity of different genera such as Juniperus, Tulipa, Allium, Iris, Salsola, and etc. promises to provide valuable insights into their population structure, phylogenetic relationships, and conservation strategies. Notably, this research has also initiated the first comparative analysis of plastid genomes in Kazakhstan. This research has been funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (AP23490860, AP23483825, AP14870612, АР14869593, AP09259027, 0237/PTF-14, and АР05131621).