Средневековая Болгария в контексте политической имагологии

[Rev. of: Angelov Petar, Medieval Bulgaria and its Neighbours, Sofia, 2017, 488 pp.]The article is a review of the book written by the famous Bulgarian medievalist P. Angelov. The work under review is a collection of articles published in different years and divided into four thematic blocks: Serbian-Bulgarian relations, medieval Bulgarian diplomacy, Bulgarians as seen by their neighbours, and other nations as seen by the medieval Bulgarians. The authors of this review think highly of the book. A significant part of its articles was published in the last five years, but even the earlier articles have still not lost their relevance. The long-term studies of P. Angelov recreate a fairly clear and bright picture of military and diplomatic contacts of Bulgaria and Serbia, Bulgaria and Byzantium, Bulgaria and other countries of the region in a rather broad historical perspective. Some of the debatable assumptions made by the author do not in the least detract from the significance of the work, but, on the contrary, contribute to a constructive scientific dialogue. In general, the new collection of works by P. Angelov, without a doubt, is scientifically relevant, makes a significant contribution to important fields of study, meets the modern international standards of scientific level and will certainly be in demand in the Russian and European scientific community. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2018.7.2.21[Рец.: Ангелов Петър, Средновековна България и нейните съседи (Дипломация и взаимни представи), София, 2017, 488 с.] В настоящей работе представлена рецензия на книгу известного болгарского историка-медиевиста П. Ангелова. Этот труд представляет собой сборник статей, изданных в разные годы и разделённых на четыре тематических блока: сербско-болгарские отношения, средневековая болгарская дипломатия, болгары в представлении их соседей и другие народы в представлении средневековых болгар. Авторы рецензии высоко оценивают данную книгу. Значимая часть статей была издана в минувшие пять лет, однако и более давние работы до сих пор не потеряли актуальности. Многолетние исследования П. Ангелова воссоздают четкую и насыщенную картину военных и дипломатических контактов Болгарии и Сербии, Болгарии и Византии, Болгарии и других стран данного региона в широкой исторической перспективе. Дискуссионность некоторых высказанных автором предположений нисколько не умаляет значимость работы, но, напротив, способствует конструктивному научному диалогу. В целом, новый сборник работ П. Ангелова имеет несомненную научную актуальность, вносит существенный вклад в исследование важной проблематики, по своему научному уровню соответствует современным мировым стандартам и, безусловно, будет востребован в российском и европейском научном сообществе. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2018.7.2.2

Genome-wide analysis of gene regulation mechanisms during Drosophila spermatogenesis

Background During Drosophila spermatogenesis, testis-specific meiotic arrest complex (tMAC) and testis-specific TBP-associated factors (tTAF) contribute to activation of hundreds of genes required for meiosis and spermiogenesis. Intriguingly, tMAC is paralogous to the broadly expressed complex Myb-MuvB (MMB)/dREAM and Mip40 protein is shared by both complexes. tMAC acts as a gene activator in spermatocytes, while MMB/dREAM was shown to repress gene activity in many cell types. Results Our study addresses the intricate interplay between tMAC, tTAF, and MMB/dREAM during spermatogenesis. We used cell type-specific DamID to build the DNA-binding profiles of Cookie monster (tMAC), Cannonball (tTAF), and Mip40 (MMB/dREAM and tMAC) proteins in male germline cells. Incorporating the whole transcriptome analysis, we characterized the regulatory effects of these proteins and identified their gene targets. This analysis revealed that tTAFs complex is involved in activation of achi, vis, and topi meiosis arrest genes, implying that tTAFs may indirectly contribute to the regulation of Achi, Vis, and Topi targets. To understand the relationship between tMAC and MMB/dREAM, we performed Mip40 DamID in tTAF- and tMAC-deficient mutants demonstrating meiosis arrest phenotype. DamID profiles of Mip40 were highly dynamic across the stages of spermatogenesis and demonstrated a strong dependence on tMAC in spermatocytes. Integrative analysis of our data indicated that MMB/dREAM represses genes that are not expressed in spermatogenesis, whereas tMAC recruits Mip40 for subsequent gene activation in spermatocytes. Conclusions Discovered interdependencies allow to formulate a renewed model for tMAC and tTAFs action in Drosophila spermatogenesis demonstrating how tissue-specific genes are regulated

Functional dissection of Drosophila melanogaster SUUR protein influence on H3K27me3 profile

Abstract Background In eukaryotes, heterochromatin replicates late in S phase of the cell cycle and contains specific covalent modifications of histones. SuUR mutation found in Drosophila makes heterochromatin replicate earlier than in wild type and reduces the level of repressive histone modifications. SUUR protein was shown to be associated with moving replication forks, apparently through the interaction with PCNA. The biological process underlying the effects of SUUR on replication and composition of heterochromatin remains unknown. Results Here we performed a functional dissection of SUUR protein effects on H3K27me3 level. Using hidden Markow model-based algorithm we revealed SuUR-sensitive chromosomal regions that demonstrated unusual characteristics: They do not contain Polycomb and require SUUR function to sustain H3K27me3 level. We tested the role of SUUR protein in the mechanisms that could affect H3K27me3 histone levels in these regions. We found that SUUR does not affect the initial H3K27me3 pattern formation in embryogenesis or Polycomb distribution in the chromosomes. We also ruled out the possible effect of SUUR on histone genes expression and its involvement in DSB repair. Conclusions Obtained results support the idea that SUUR protein contributes to the heterochromatin maintenance during the chromosome replication. A model that explains major SUUR-associated phenotypes is proposed