Phylogenomics revealed migration routes and adaptive radiation timing of holarctic malaria mosquito species of the Maculipennis group

BackgroundPhylogenetic analyses of closely related species of mosquitoes are important for better understanding the evolution of traits contributing to transmission of vector-borne diseases. Six out of 41 dominant malaria vectors of the genus Anopheles in the world belong to the Maculipennis Group, which is subdivided into two Nearctic subgroups (Freeborni and Quadrimaculatus) and one Palearctic (Maculipennis) subgroup. Although previous studies considered the Nearctic subgroups as ancestral, details about their relationship with the Palearctic subgroup, and their migration times and routes from North America to Eurasia remain controversial. The Palearctic species An. beklemishevi is currently included in the Nearctic Quadrimaculatus subgroup adding to the uncertainties in mosquito systematics.ResultsTo reconstruct historic relationships in the Maculipennis Group, we conducted a phylogenomic analysis of 11 Palearctic and 2 Nearctic species based on sequences of 1271 orthologous genes. The analysis indicated that the Palearctic species An. beklemishevi clusters together with other Eurasian species and represents a basal lineage among them. Also, An. beklemishevi is related more closely to An. freeborni, which inhabits the Western United States, rather than to An. quadrimaculatus, a species from the Eastern United States. The time-calibrated tree suggests a migration of mosquitoes in the Maculipennis Group from North America to Eurasia about 20-25 million years ago through the Bering Land Bridge. A Hybridcheck analysis demonstrated highly significant signatures of introgression events between allopatric species An. labranchiae and An. beklemishevi. The analysis also identified ancestral introgression events between An. sacharovi and its Nearctic relative An. freeborni despite their current geographic isolation. The reconstructed phylogeny suggests that vector competence and the ability to enter complete diapause during winter evolved independently in different lineages of the Maculipennis Group.ConclusionsOur phylogenomic analyses reveal migration routes and adaptive radiation timing of Holarctic malaria vectors and strongly support the inclusion of An. beklemishevi into the Maculipennis Subgroup. Detailed knowledge of the evolutionary history of the Maculipennis Subgroup provides a framework for examining the genomic changes related to ecological adaptation and susceptibility to human pathogens. These genomic variations may inform researchers about similar changes in the future providing insights into the patterns of disease transmission in Eurasia

TO THE QUESTION ABOUT PROSPECTS (UPCYCLE) OF ABANDONED COPPER-SULPHIDE PITS IN THE URALS

Relevance of the topic is due to concern of modern civilized society about the negative impact on the ecology of man-made mineral formations of the mining activity. Technogenic ores are represented by sludges, which are removed by groundwater from abandoned pits and rock dumps. They are deposited in surface watercourse and serve as a source of environmental disasters. They overfill natural and artificial sedimentation basin, and the mine waters carrying them threaten to increase acidity in protected reservoirs that serve as a source for drinking water for big cities. At the same time, in recent years, the industrial value of these sludges has been determined, and the technology has been developed for extracting non-ferrous metals and useful associated components from them. It is revealing that this ore sludge occur directly in alluvial and deluvial deposits of river valleys and ponds, which are also of industrial interest as a source of surface gold and industrial minerals – sand gravel mixes. The need for the extraction of large volumes of the latter is particularly relevant, since an extensive construction program is planned and implemented here. The purpose of this paper is to attract attention of business and the public to an economically advantageous project for the development of manmade copper-zinc ores from the abandoned pits of the Urals with a simultaneous solution of environmental problems. Methodology. The work was done by the authors using the results of their own research and materials in collaboration with the team of Nedra group Ltd. The result of the work. The authors have shown the presence of technogenic copper-zinc deposit within the territory of the Degtyarsky pit and predicted gold-bearing placers in addition to it. Conclusions. The main task of the study in the territory of the Degtyarsky pit is granting the licenses for the sites of Istok and Elchyovka; the estimated cost of engineering design and geological exploration with an evaluation of reserves of non-ferrous, noble metals and associated raw materials in sludge and alluvium-deluvium, as well as with the solution of environmental problems, ranges from 50–60 to 80 million rubles

New Approach to the Modeling of Processes for Maintenance Vehicle Service

В статье предложено рассматривать станцию технического обслуживания автомобилей как многофазную систему массового обслуживания. Приведены формулы для расчета характеристик системы в каждой из рассматриваемых фаз. На конкретном примере показано влияние загрузки производственных участков на состояние следующих по ходу технологического процесса участков. С помощью имитационного моделирования определены оптимальные значения числа рабочих мест на производственных участках.The article proposes to consider the Maintenance Vehicle Service such as the multiphase queueing system. The formulas for calculation of system characteristics in each of the analyzed study phases. A specific example illustrates the effect of download productive plots on the following condition on the downstream side of the plots. With the help of simulation the optimal values of the number of jobs in the manufacturing areas

Analysis of macrophage transcriptome in atherogenesis

The accumulation of cholesterol under the influence of modified low density lipoprotein is a key cause of atherogenesis. It is known that atherosclerosis is accompanied by chronic local inflammation. Monocytes/macrophages, main cells of the innate immunity, may not only capturing and accumulating lipids in the vascular wall, but also secreting signaling molecules that affect the functions of other cells. An atherosclerotic lesion is characterized by the inability to complete the inflammatory response, as a result of which the inflammation becomes chronic. Intracellular lipid accumulation is a necessary condition for the initiation of atherogenesis, but it is not known whether it is sufficient. Analysis of the transcriptome allowed us to characterize the state of macrophages loaded with lipids. Studies presented in this review show that the reaction of innate immunity contributes to the accumulation of intracellular lipids and aggravates it

Chemical composition of circulating native and desialylated low density lipoprotein: what is the difference?

Atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular disorders remain the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. Modified low density lipoprotein (LDL) is considered to play a crucial role in atherosclerosis development. During the past decades, several types of atherogenic LDL modification have been discovered. Desialylation was one of the atherogenic modifications observed in circulating atherogenic LDL in vivo. Sialic acid level negatively correlates with triglyceride and cholesterol contents. Desialylated LDL is small, dense and highly susceptible to oxidation, as reported for hyperlipidemic conditions. This atherogenic modification leads to increased cholesterol intake by macrophages and smooth-muscle cells, and is also associated with other pathologies, such as diabetes mellitus. Moreover, these conditions provoke damage and desialylated LDL particles may trigger autoimmune reactions in macrophages and B-cells

The complex role of transcription factor GAGA in germline death during Drosophila spermatogenesis: transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses

The GAGA protein (also known as GAF) is a transcription factor encoded by the Trl gene in D. melanogaster. GAGA is involved in the regulation of transcription of many genes at all stages of fly development and life. Recently, we investigated the participation of GAGA in spermatogenesis and discovered that Trl mutants experience massive degradation of germline cells in the testes. Trl underexpression induces autophagic death of spermatocytes, thereby leading to reduced testis size. Here, we aimed to determine the role of the transcription factor GAGA in the regulation of ectopic germline cell death. We investigated how Trl underexpression affects gene expression in the testes. We identified 15,993 genes in three biological replicates of our RNA-seq analysis and compared transcript levels between hypomorphic TrlR85/Trl362 and Oregon testes. A total of 2,437 differentially expressed genes were found, including 1,686 upregulated and 751 downregulated genes. At the transcriptional level, we detected the development of cellular stress in the Trl-mutant testes: downregulation of the genes normally expressed in the testes (indicating slowed or abrogated spermatocyte differentiation) and increased expression of metabolic and proteolysis-related genes, including stress response long noncoding RNAs. Nonetheless, in the Flybase Gene Ontology lists of genes related to cell death, autophagy, or stress, there was no enrichment with GAGA-binding sites. Furthermore, we did not identify any specific GAGA-dependent cell death pathway that could regulate spermatocyte death. Thus, our data suggest that GAGA deficiency in male germline cells leads to an imbalance of metabolic processes, impaired mitochondrial function, and cell death due to cellular stress

New Cytogenetic Photomap and Molecular Diagnostics for the Cryptic Species of the Malaria Mosquitoes Anopheles messeae and Anopheles daciae from Eurasia

The Eurasian malaria vector Anopheles messeae is a widely spread and genetically diverse species. Five widespread polymorphic chromosomal inversions were found in natural populations of this mosquito. A cryptic species, Anopheles daciae, was differentiated from An. messeae by the presence of several nucleotide substitutions in the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region of ribosomal DNA. However, because of the absence of a high-quality reference cytogenetic map, the inversion polymorphisms in An. daciae and An. messeae remain poorly understood. Moreover, a recently determined heterogeneity in ITS2 in An. daciae questioned the accuracy of the previously used Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) assay for species diagnostics. In this study, a standard-universal cytogenetic map was constructed based on orcein stained images of chromosomes from salivary glands for population studies of the chromosomal inversions that can be used for both An. messeae and An. daciae. In addition, a new ITS2-RFLP approach for species diagnostics was developed. Both methods were applied to characterize inversion polymorphism in populations of An. messeae and An. daciae from a single location in Western Siberia in Russia. The analysis demonstrates that cryptic species are remarkably different in their frequencies of chromosomal inversion variants. Our study supports previous observations that An. messeae has higher inversion polymorphism in all autosomes than the cryptic species An. daciae