Polymorphism T3111C of the Clock gene in ethnic groups of women from Russia and Buryatia

Biological rhythms of organisms depend on both changing conditions of the external environment and internal “biological clock”. Circadian rhythms are the response of the organism to the change of day and night. They are some of the most important biological rhythms of organisms. Circadian rhythms are regulated by the group of circadian genes. It is known that women suffer from sleep disorders more often than men. Up to 50 % of menopausal women complain of problems associated with sleeping. The study involved 403 menopausal women aged from 45 to 60 years: 214 Russians (the average age is 52.74±6.28 years) and 189 Buryats (the average age is 51.95±5.13 years) living in Eastern Siberia (Irkutsk region, Irkutsk and Republic of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude). The prevalence of genotypes and alleles of the polymorphism T3111C of the circadian rhythm gene Clock (rs1801260) was studied in these groups. To this end, we conducted genotyping of DNA samples by polymerase chain reaction. It was shown that the compared groups have statistically significant differences in genotypes frequency (р = 0.001). It was found that in the group of Russian women the frequency of the TC genotype (p = 0.004) was significantly higher and the frequency of the TT genotype (p = 0.0001) was significantly lower than those in the sample of women of Buryatia. It was shown that in the group of Russian women allele 3111C is found in 30.4 % of cases, which is statistically significantly more often than in the group of Buryat women, where the frequency of allele 3111C was 19.3 % (p = 0.014)

Active methylotrophs in the sediments of Lonar Lake, a saline and alkaline ecosystem formed by meteor impact

Lonar Lake is a unique saline and alkaline ecosystem formed by meteor impact in the Deccan basalts in India around 52 000 years ago. To investigate the role of methylotrophy in the cycling of carbon in this unusual environment, stable-isotope probing (SIP) was carried out using the one-carbon compounds methane, methanol and methylamine. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting analyses performed with heavy (13)C-labelled DNA retrieved from sediment microcosms confirmed the enrichment and labelling of active methylotrophic communities. Clone libraries were constructed using PCR primers targeting 16S rRNA genes and functional genes. Methylomicrobium, Methylophaga and Bacillus spp. were identified as the predominant active methylotrophs in methane, methanol and methylamine SIP microcosms, respectively. Absence of mauA gene amplification in the methylamine SIP heavy fraction also indicated that methylamine metabolism in Lonar Lake sediments may not be mediated by the methylamine dehydrogenase enzyme pathway. Many gene sequences retrieved in this study were not affiliated with extant methanotrophs or methylotrophs. These sequences may represent hitherto uncharacterized novel methylotrophs or heterotrophic organisms that may have been cross-feeding on methylotrophic metabolites or biomass. This study represents an essential first step towards understanding the relevance of methylotrophy in the soda lake sediments of an unusual impact crater structure. The ISME Journal (2010) 4, 1470-1480; doi: 10.1038/ismej.2010.70; published online 17 June 201