THE MOLECULAR GENETIC STUDY OF KRIM-SAGHYZ (Taraxacum hybernum Steven) USING SSR, RAPD AND ISSR MARKERS

Krim-saghyz (Taraxacum hybernum Steven) is an alternative to Hevea brasiliensis as a source of natural rubber. In Russia, krim-saghyz is common only in the Crimean Peninsula and is traditionally named after it. In spite of its potential for economical use, the genetic structure of the Crimean population of this plant is still unexplored. In this regard, the purpose of our work was a comparative molecular-genetic characterization of T. hybernum from various habitats of the Crimean Peninsula using SSR, RAPD and ISSR markers. According to the plan, we collected achenes, leaves and roots of krim-saghyz in 10 spots all over the Crimean Peninsula. We found the plants in the western part of the southern Crimean coast and the western part of the Crimean foothills, which are two general regions of the area of this species. Total DNA was extracted from dry leaves of krim-saghyz with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). For the first time 12 SSR, 3 RAPD and 3 ISSR markers were tested on krim-saghyz. To observe polymorphism of RAPD- and ISSR-fragments, we used analytical electrophoresis in 1.7 % agarose gel. To compare the length of SSR amplicons, we used gel-electrophoresis in 8 % polyacrylamide gel. We found that the Crimean population of krim-saghyz appears to be genetically homogeneous. This could be due to a small geographic range and apomictic reproduction of this species. However, the phenotypical diversity within the population of T. hybernum is well known from the literature. Consequently, the study of the DNA polymorphism of this species should be continued, in particular, with the help of high-resolution techniques

Investigation of the Sorption Properties of Ore Materials for the Removal of Sulfur Dioxide from Exhaust Flue Gases of Power Plants

The prospects of using a natural material – ferromanganese nodules (FMN) from the Gulf of Finland – as the SO2 adsorbent are discussed. The starting material was studied as pellets and powder using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, XRD, BET, and mechanical strength analysis; dependences of physicochemical parameters of the material on heat treatment at 100-1000 ºC were found. FMN samples were tested in the process of SO2 sorption. The sorptive capacity of FMN samples for SO2 was found to increase with humidity of adsorbents; FMN samples with a humidity above 40% were shown to be promising for the removal of sulfur dioxide from gase

Pyrrolylquinoxaline-2-one derivative as a potent therapeutic factor for brain trauma rehabilitation

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often causes massive brain cell death accompanied by the accumulation of toxic factors in interstitial and cerebrospinal fluids. The persistence of the damaged brain area is not transient and may occur within days and weeks. Chaperone Hsp70 is known for its cytoprotective and antiapoptotic activity, and thus, a therapeutic approach based on chemically induced Hsp70 expression may become a promising approach to lower post-traumatic complications. To simulate the processes of secondary damage, we used an animal model of TBI and a cell model based on the cultivation of target cells in the presence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from injured rats. Here we present a novel low molecular weight substance, PQ-29, which induces the synthesis of Hsp70 and empowers the resistance of rat C6 glioma cells to the cytotoxic effect of rat cerebrospinal fluid taken from rats subjected to TBI. In an animal model of TBI, PQ-29 elevated the Hsp70 level in brain cells and significantly slowed the process of the apoptosis in acceptor cells in response to cerebrospinal fluid action. The compound was also shown to rescue the motor function of traumatized rats, thus proving its potential application in rehabilitation therapy after TBI. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: 0124-2019-002Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 20-33-70102Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 18-74-10087Funding: This research was funded by Russian Science Foundation, research project #18-74-10087 (V.F.L., E.A.D., M.A.M., E.R.M.), Russian Foundation for Basic Research, research project #20-33-70102 (I.A.U., O.N.C., V.N.C, M.?.T., I.V.G.), and by The Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation № 0124-2019-002 (R.V.S., N.D.A., B.A.M.)

Genetically enhanced asynapsis of autosomal chromatin promotes transcriptional dysregulation and meiotic failure

During meiosis, pairing of homologous chromosomes and their synapsis are essential prerequisites for normal male gametogenesis. Even limited autosomal asynapsis often leads to spermatogenic impairment, the mechanism of which is not fully understood. The present study was aimed at deliberately increasing the size of partial autosomal asynapsis and analysis of its impact on male meiosis. For this purpose, we studied the effect of t12 haplotype encompassing four inversions on chromosome 17 on mouse autosomal translocation T(16;17)43H (abbreviated T43H). The T43H/T43H homozygotes were fully fertile in both sexes, while +/T43H heterozygous males, but not females, were sterile with meiotic arrest at late pachynema. Inclusion of the t12 haplotype in trans to the T43H translocation resulted in enhanced asynapsis of the translocated autosome, ectopic phosphorylation of histone H2AX, persistence of RAD51 foci, and increased gene silencing around the translocation break. Increase was also on colocalization of unsynapsed chromatin with sex body. Remarkably, we found that transcriptional silencing of the unsynapsed autosomal chromatin precedes silencing of sex chromosomes. Based on the present knowledge, we conclude that interference of meiotic silencing of unsynapsed autosomes with meiotic sex chromosome inactivation is the most likely cause of asynapsis-related male sterility

Periodic actin structures in neuronal axons are required to maintain microtubules

Axons are the cable-like neuronal processes wiring the nervous system. They contain parallel bundles of microtubules as structural backbones, surrounded by regularly-spaced actin rings termed the periodic membrane skeleton (PMS). Despite being an evolutionarily-conserved, ubiquitous, highly-ordered feature of axons, the function of PMS is unknown. Here we studied PMS abundance, organisation and function, combining versatile Drosophila genetics with super-resolution microscopy and various functional readouts. Analyses with 11 different actin regulators and 3 actin-targeting drugs suggest PMS to contain short actin filaments which are depolymerisation resistant and sensitive to spectrin, adducin and nucleator deficiency - consistent with microscopy-derived models proposing PMS as specialised cortical actin. Upon actin removal we observed gaps in microtubule bundles, reduced microtubule polymerisation and reduced axon numbers suggesting a role of PMS in microtubule organisation. These effects become strongly enhanced when carried out in neurons lacking the microtubule-stabilising protein Short stop (Shot). Combining the aforementioned actin manipulations with Shot deficiency revealed a close correlation between PMS abundance and microtubule regulation, consistent with a model in which PMS-dependent microtubule polymerisation contributes to their maintenance in axons. We discuss potential implications of this novel PMS function along axon shafts for axon maintenance and regeneration

Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) Reveals a Neo-X Chromosome and Biased Gene Movement in Stalk-Eyed Flies (Genus Teleopsis)

Chromosomal location has a significant effect on the evolutionary dynamics of genes involved in sexual dimorphism, impacting both the pattern of sex-specific gene expression and the rate of duplication and protein evolution for these genes. For nearly all non-model organisms, however, knowledge of chromosomal gene content is minimal and difficult to obtain on a genomic scale. In this study, we utilized Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), using probes designed from EST sequence, to identify genes located on the X chromosome of four species in the stalk-eyed fly genus Teleopsis. Analysis of log2 ratio values of female-to-male hybridization intensities from the CGH microarrays for over 3,400 genes reveals a strongly bimodal distribution that clearly differentiates autosomal from X-linked genes for all four species. Genotyping of 33 and linkage mapping of 28 of these genes in Teleopsis dalmanni indicate the CGH results correctly identified chromosomal location in all cases. Syntenic comparison with Drosophila indicates that 90% of the X-linked genes in Teleopsis are homologous to genes located on chromosome 2L in Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting the formation of a nearly complete neo-X chromosome from Muller element B in the dipteran lineage leading to Teleopsis. Analysis of gene movement both relative to Drosophila and within Teleopsis indicates that gene movement is significantly associated with 1) rates of protein evolution, 2) the pattern of gene duplication, and 3) the evolution of eyespan sexual dimorphism. Overall, this study reveals that diopsids are a critical group for understanding the evolution of sex chromosomes within Diptera. In addition, we demonstrate that CGH is a useful technique for identifying chromosomal sex-linkage and should be applicable to other organisms with EST or partial genomic information