During his PhD Nikolay focused on the use of plant microspore cultures of pepper and tomatoes in molecular biologic studies. Microspore embryogenesis is a process in which the immature male gametophyte is induced to undergo a switch from gametophytic to embryogenic development In in vitro culture. Haploid embryos obtained by this method can be converted into homozygous double haploid plants either spontaneously or after treatment with chromosome doubling agents. The focus of his bachelor and master studies were on molecular biology techniques studying the transposon-associated polymorphism in the model plant Arabidopis thaliana.
Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors
Biotechnologist – Vaccine Development, Huvepharma, Sofia, Bulgaria
Jully 2016 – August 2023
- Led Vaccine process development and optimization.
- Managed QC analytical development, validation, and technology transfer.
- Supervised multiple successful vaccine commercialization projects.
Fellowship, R&D, IRTA-CReSA, Barcelona, Spain
December 2018 – December 2018
- Conducting African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) research in a BSL3 laboratory.
- Utilizing immunoperoxidase monolayer assay and PCR techniques for titration of virus load.
Fellowship, R&D, Center for Nuclear Research Saraykoy, Ankara, Turkey
October 2015 – November 2015
- Investigating nuclear energy’s effect on pepper pollen reprogramming towards embryogenesis.
Fellowship, R&D, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
April 2015 – September 2015
- Exploring regulation of gene expression and study of different chemicals on the androgenesis of rapeseed and tomato plants.
- DNA and RNA isolation and in situ hybridization.
- Study of the effect of Benzyl adenine and caffeine on microspore embryogenesis and reprogramming of pollen towards somatic cell formation in Solanum lycopersicum
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
N Anachkov, G Yahubyan, I Minkov, O Charishnikova, T Popova, (2017) Successful Microspore Reprogramming towards Embryogenesis of Bulgarian Pepper Varieties and Effects of Stress Treatments and Wheat Ovaries on Embryo Formation. Comptes rendus del’Académie bulgare des Sciences 70 (5), 739-749
Mladen Naydenov , Nadezhda Gospodinova , Elena Apostolova , Nikolaj Anachkov, Vesselin Baev , Mariyana Gozmanova , Ivan Minkov , Galina Yahubyan (2018)Transposon-associated polymorphisms of stress-responsive gene promoters in natural variants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Acta biochimical Polonica Vol. 65 No. 3
Apostolova E., Rashkova M., Anachkov N, Denev I., Toneva V., Minkov I., Yahubyan G. (2012) Molecular cloning and characterization of cDNAs of the superoxide dismutase gene family in the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 55, 85–92.
