KLYSHEV LUCBAN KLYSHEVICH(1909-1991)

Doctor of biological sciences, Professor


Klyshev Lucban Klyshevich is one of the founders of biochemical science in Kazakhstan. He founded such scientific areas as biochemistry of secondary compounds, biochemistry and physiology of salt resistance of plants and phytochemistry. He is a pioneer at studying and rational usage of Kazakhstan plant resources, as producers of the most valuable physiologically active substances, and made a great contribution to the development and implementation of the national economy of practical proposals for the use of waste production of physiologically active compounds. Lukban Klyshev was the initiator of the development of research enzyme systems involved in nitrogen exchange in Kazakhstan, which allowed to justify the scientific basis for the use of various forms of nitrogen fertilizer.  The scientific achievements of L. Klyshev associated with basic research in biosynthesis, transformation and hinolinovy pyridine alkaloids, determination of physico-chemical properties of enzymes involved in their metabolism.

Lucban Klyshev was born on March 14, 1909 in the Village #12, Chingirlau district of the Ural region. Due to the lack of school in the village, he began to study almost as a teenager and at the age of 20 he graduated from Junior high school in Chilik district center. In 1929 he arrived at Kyzyl-Orda city and in spite of lower secondary education, passed the entrance examination and entered the Institute of education. After graduation, in 1932 he entered at the faculty of natural geography of the Abay Kazakh pedagogical Institute in Alma-Ata city and in 1935 he was sent as a teacher to Balkhashstroy. After coming back to Alma-ata city he started to work at the Kazakh Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the younger scientific employee of the Botanical Garden. Lukban Klyshev was held a large practical course on the physiology and biochemistry of plants in the University and get familiar with the general methods of research, for being able to work in the field of chemistry of plants, without departing from the main activity.

By order of the Chimkent chemical pharmaceutical plant and the assignment of the Kazakh branch of the Academy of Science, in 1938 he had chosen the object of his research anabasis leafless, which is a valuable raw material plant unique in the world anabasine production. In the same year, Lukban Klyshev gathered a large experimental material and entered at postgraduate study at the Department of physiology and biochemistry of S.M. Kirov Kazakh State University. His supervisor was a famous scientist, Professor S.O. Grebinsky.

During the great Patriotic War after completing his postgraduate degree, Lukban Klyshev worked as a senior researcher and then headed the Laboratory of plant poisons of the Kazakh branch of V.I. Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In 1943-1944 during the half-yearly trip to the Institute of Biochemistry in Moscow, under the guidance of corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Professor A. I. Smirnov he developed the colorimetric method for the determination of anabasine in a mixture of alkaloids of Anabasis, which essentially determined the success of his work in the further study of the Anabasis leafless. This method was later improved and applied for the control of all technological process of production of anabasine sulfate.

Lukban Klyshev organized in Kazakhstan the first laboratory of plants’ chemistry at the Institute of Botany in 1944.

In 1945 Lucban Klyshev successfully defended his thesis “Biochemical studies of alkaloid saltwort (Anabasis-insigek)” at the Academic Council of S.M. Kirov Kazakh State University. This thesis was published in the Proceedings of the Institute of Botany with minor reductions in 1947. It was the first time that biochemical characteristics of anabasis were given, the regularity between the accumulation of alkaloids and other plastic substances and edaphic conditions was shown, and the prospects for further research in this direction were proved.

In 1952 Lukban Klyshev with his laboratory of plants’ chemistry were transferred to the Botanical garden, which he headed as a Director, and there continued his work on the anabasis leafless. This work, formed in the form of a report on the natural reserves of anabasis throughout Kazakhstan and on ways of their rational use, was presented to the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR and the USSR Lecrastrest in 1955.

In 1955 by the decision of the Presidium of the Kazakh SSR, Lukban Klyshev was sent for 2 years to the V.L. Komarova Botanical garden in Leningrad for doctoral studies. Under the guidance of Professor I.M. Ilyin, he completed and defended his doctoral dissertation “Biological basis for the use and introduction of leafless Anabasis into culture”.  The results of the doctoral thesis, including a comprehensive characterization of the raw material plants of Kazakhstan with all cartographic material, was published in the form of the monograph “Biology of Anabasis leafless” in Alma-Ata in 1961.

After the completion of PhD, L. Klyshev returned to the Institute of Botany in Kazakhstan and headed the Laboratory of plant biochemistry. From 1983 to 1986 he headed the laboratory of biochemistry of alkaloids of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of KazSSR.  From 1986 to 1991 he worked as a consultant.

In 1958 Lukban Klyshev was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. He was awarded the title of Professor in 1960 and the title “Honored worker of science of the Kazakh SSR” in 1974.

L.Klyshev has devoted considerable attention to education in biochemistry and was a tremendous help in the development of young talented scientists. He created the Kazakhstan school of biochemists studying the metabolism of secondary compounds in the plant cell.  From 1957 to 1962 Lucban Klyshev worked as a Professor at the Women’s Pedagogical Institute and read a course of lectures on physiology of plants. Later, he was a lecturer at the same course at the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute and S.M. Kirov Kazakh State University. 

Klyshev Lukban Klyshevich is the author of 250 scientific works, including 5 monographs and several patents.

Scientific, scientific-pedagogical and social activities of Lukban Klyshev, his merits in development of biochemistry and the training of scientific personnel were awarded the order of “Badge of Honor”, “Friendship of peoples”, medals and Diplomas of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR and the Presidium of the Kazakh SSR.

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