Pervasive and Persistent Redundancy among Duplicated Genes in Yeast

The loss of functional redundancy is the key process in the evolution of duplicated genes. Here we systematically assess the extent of functional redundancy among a large set of duplicated genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We quantify growth rate in rich medium for a large number of S. cerevisiae strains that carry single and double deletions of duplicated and singleton genes. We demonstrate that duplicated genes can maintain substantial redundancy for extensive periods of time following duplication (∼100 million years). We find high levels of redundancy among genes duplicated both via the whole genome duplication and via smaller scale duplications. Further, we see no evidence that two duplicated genes together contribute to fitness in rich medium substantially beyond that of their ancestral progenitor gene. We argue that duplicate genes do not often evolve to behave like singleton genes even after very long periods of time

Screening of anxiolytic properties and analysis of structure-activity relationship of new derivatives of 6-(4-methoxy)-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a][2,3]benzodiazepine under the code RD

Introduction: Searching for new compounds with anti-anxiety activity resulting from the combination of privileged scaffolds is a promising direction in medicinal chemistry and in the development of new drugs. Anxiolytic potential and cytotoxic properties of previously synthesized molecules, containing fragments of 2,3-benzodiazepine and 1,2,4-triazole – 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-A][2,3]benzodiazepines under the generic code RD were studied. Materials and methods: Screening for anxiolytic activity was performed on elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) test models. Structural and functional analysis of the anti-anxiety activity of the studied substances was carried out. A degree of muscle relaxant effect of the substances was assessed in the tests Grid, Wire, and Rotarod. A cytotoxicity study of RD compounds was carried out using an MTT assay on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells HepG2. Results and discussion: For a number of novel triazolo[3,4-a][2,3]benzodiazepine derivatives, a prominent anxiolytic activity was manifested in terms of EPM test. The results of OF test were consistent with the obtained data and confirmed the presence of the sought activity in the leading compounds. There was no significant effect on muscle tone for the compounds under study. It was observed that RD compounds possessed no cytotoxic properties and were safe for further studies in vivo. Conclusion: Among the new derivatives of 6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a][2,3]benzodiazepine under the code RD, substances (RD-4, 12, 13) with a high anxiolytic activity comparable to diazepam and tofisopam were found. The most promising compound is RD-4 due to its pronounced anxiolytic and low cytotoxic properties