Florigen and its homologs of FT/CETS/PEBP/RKIP/YbhB family may be the enzymes of small molecule metabolism: review of the evidence.

BACKGROUND: Flowering signals are sensed in plant leaves and transmitted to the shoot apical meristems, where the formation of flowers is initiated. Searches for a diffusible hormone-like signaling entity ("florigen") went on for many decades, until a product of plant gene FT was identified as the key component of florigen in the 1990s, based on the analysis of mutants, genetic complementation evidence, and protein and RNA localization studies. Sequence homologs of FT protein are found throughout prokaryotes and eukaryotes; some eukaryotic family members appear to bind phospholipids or interact with the components of the signal transduction cascades. Most FT homologs are known to share a constellation of five charged residues, three of which, i.e., two histidines and an aspartic acid, are located at the rim of a well-defined cavity on the protein surface. RESULTS: We studied molecular features of the FT homologs in prokaryotes and analyzed their genome context, to find tentative evidence connecting the bacterial FT homologs with small molecule metabolism, often involving substrates that contain sugar or ribonucleoside moieties. We argue that the unifying feature of this protein family, i.e., a set of charged residues conserved at the sequence and structural levels, is more likely to be an enzymatic active center than a catalytically inert ligand-binding site. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that most of FT-related proteins are enzymes operating on small diffusible molecules. Those metabolites may constitute an overlooked essential ingredient of the florigen signal

The Top Questions of the Higher Education: Openness, Availability, Elitism

The article presents the main features of the university education and their transformation after appearance of commercialisation in the university activities. The changes combined with the globalisation of the higher education and new ways of managing the system of higher education are pointed

Small Open Reading Frames, Non-Coding RNAs and Repetitive Elements in Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110

Small open reading frames (sORFs) and genes for non-coding RNAs are poorly investigated components of most genomes. Our analysis of 1391 ORFs recently annotated in the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 revealed that 78% of them contain less than 80 codons. Twenty-one of these sORFs are conserved in or outside Alphaproteobacteria and most of them are similar to genes found in transposable elements, in line with their broad distribution. Stabilizing selection was demonstrated for sORFs with proteomic evidence and bll1319_ISGA which is conserved at the nucleotide level in 16 alphaproteobacterial species, 79 species from other taxa and 49 other Proteobacteria. Further we used Northern blot hybridization to validate ten small RNAs (BjsR1 to BjsR10) belonging to new RNA families. We found that BjsR1 and BjsR3 have homologs outside the genus Bradyrhizobium, and BjsR5, BjsR6, BjsR7, and BjsR10 have up to four imperfect copies in Bradyrhizobium genomes. BjsR8, BjsR9, and BjsR10 are present exclusively in nodules, while the other sRNAs are also expressed in liquid cultures. We also found that the level of BjsR4 decreases after exposure to tellurite and iron, and this down-regulation contributes to survival under high iron conditions. Analysis of additional small RNAs overlapping with 3’-UTRs revealed two new repetitive elements named Br-REP1 and Br-REP2. These REP elements may play roles in the genomic plasticity and gene regulation and could be useful for strain identification by PCR-fingerprinting. Furthermore, we studied two potential toxin genes in the symbiotic island and confirmed toxicity of the yhaV homolog bll1687 but not of the newly annotated higB homolog blr0229_ISGA in E. coli. Finally, we revealed transcription interference resulting in an antisense RNA complementary to blr1853, a gene induced in symbiosis. The presented results expand our knowledge on sORFs, non-coding RNAs and repetitive elements in B. japonicum and related bacteria

A Non-Destructive Prediction Method for Wood Density Variations of Silver Birch Trees Growing in the Middle Volga Region, Russia

The density of wood inside the stick varies greatly according to the diameter and height of the tree. The development of a non-destructive method of predicting an average density of wood in all specific breed stem-base density in parts of the tree is of great practical importance. For this purpose, the research was conducted to identify the patterns of wood density dynamics against the height and the diameter of birch trees growing in the conditions of the Middle Volga Region in Russia. Fourteen model birch trees (Betula pendula) were selected as research material on two plots in the plantations of the Scientific-Experimental Forest District of the Volga State University of Technology (VSUT) in the Republic of Mari El of Russia. From each felled model tree 50.0 mm cross-section discs were carved at a distance of 1.3 m from the root collar and at relative heights of 0.25H, 0.5H, and 0.75H. Prototypes in the form of 20x20x30 mm rectangular prisms (long side along the wood grain) were made from their north and south sides at a distance of 0.25R, 0.5R and 0.75R from the stem core along the NS diagonal. Density studies were conducted by measuring the density of the wood sample immersed in liquid against the buoyant force. It has been revealed that there are both differences and patterns of change in density in the longitudinal and cross-section directions of the trunk of a birch tree growing in the conditions of the Middle Volga Region in Russia. Based on the results obtained, a mathematical model of these laws has been formulated. Сlose relationship between the average density of the stick and its diameter at breast height (DBH) cross-section average density, i.e. ρtree=178.52+0.641ρdbh (r=0.922) has been revealed. By applying a well-known method of determining the density of cross-section radial core extracted from the wood by an age borer at this height, wood density of the birch trees growing in the Middle Volga Region can be calculated according to this equation

From protein-protein to isoform-isoform interactions: the toolkit to map alternative splicing to interactome

Alternative splicing (AS) can impact protein structure and lead to protein-protein interaction (PPI) rewiring. Available PPI networks neglect alternative splicing isoforms: as interactions might happen only between a subset of isoforms, the PPI network contains both false-positive and false-negative interactions. Since it is not feasible to validate all isoform-isoform interactions experimentally, we present a set of tools to investigate AS on a network level: DIGGER to map splicing to the PPI network, as well as NEASE and Spycone to evaluate the functional consequences of network rewiring. DIGGER (https://exbio.wzw.tum.de/digger) integrates PPIs, domain-domain, and residuelevel interactions - the structures that might be spliced in or out and result in interaction gain or loss. Users can explore possible rewiring for an isoform or exon of interest and extract relevant subnetworks. NEASE (https://github.com/louadi/NEASE) identifies pathways that are significantly affected by network rewiring. NEASE extends classic gene set enrichment analysis by considering isoform-specific interactions affecting pathways. Spycone (https://github.com/yollct/spycone) addresses the time-course changes in AS. It searches for isoforms that demonstrate similar temporal splicing patterns and reflect the splicing co-regulation. Spycone further integrates gene set, network, and splicing-aware NEASE enrichment. Overall, we offer a splicing-focused network analysis toolkit that allows for studying the mechanistic consequences of AS.Book of abstract: 4th Belgrade Bioinformatics Conference, June 19-23, 202

Currant growing technology and mechanized harvesting-review

Currant is a technological, fast-growing, high-yielding crop with a high content of vitamins in the fruit. The intensification of production provides for an increase in the productivity of plantings and a reduction in the cost of production due to the introduction of new cultivation technologies. The main production expenses are connected with harvest. The authors of this paper present the first and modern berry harvesters that reduce the cost of production and ensure high productivity of automated labor. The prospect of using technologies is based on agricultural techniques for cultivating highly productive, disease-and pest-resistant currant cultivars with a certain bush habit and physical and mechanical parameters of berries. Scientists have developed new breeding programs for Ribes, taking into account the genetic characteristics of the cultivar. The review presents the main cultivars of currants grown commercially in Europe, the USA, and Russia. Information about crop cultivation technologies is summarized and analyzed

ATT BLI HÖRD OCH FÖRSTÅDD : Litteraturstudie om att leva med afasi

Bakgrund: I Sverige drabbas drygt en tredjedel av de patienter som fått diagnosen ”akut stroke” av afasi med tydliga funktionsnedsättningar. Afasi innebär oftast en kris, en förändring av patientens livssituation. Även patientens familj och dess närståendes liv påverkas av den förändrade livssituationen.  Syfte: Att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att leva med afasi.  Metod: Litteraturstudie med beskrivande syntes.  Resultat: Litteraturstudien resulterade i två teman: det förändrade livet och att kämpa vidare. Dessa teman bestod av sju subteman: vikten av verbal kommunikation, meningsfulla relationer, arbetets betydelse, återhämtning och återerövra vardagen, positiv inställning till livet, kampen för att bryta social isolering och skapa självförtroende.  Slutsats: En god kommunikation, en god relation med familj och vänner samt ett ömsesidigt socialt samspel bidrar till välbefinnande hos patienter med afasi. En meningsfull delaktighet och samhällets stöd förbättrar livskvalitén hos patienter med afasi och bidrar till livstillfredställelse.  Nyckelord: afasi, aktiviteter, kommunikation, patientperspektiv, rehabilitering, stroke.Background: More than a third of the patients in Sweden diagnosed with “acute stroke” suffer from aphasia with distinct disabilities. Aphasia usually implies a crisis, a change in the patient’s life situation. Even the patient’s family and its related parties’ lives are affected by the changing life situation.  Aim: To describe patients’ experiences of living with aphasia.  Method: Literature study with descriptive synthesis.  Results: The literature review resulted in two themes: the changing life and to keep struggling. These themes consisted of seven subthemes: the importance of verbal communication, meaningful relationships, the importance of work, recovery and recapture everyday life, positive attitude to life, the struggle to break the social isolation and create confidence.  Conclusion: A good communication, good relationships with family and friends as well as a reciprocal social interaction contributes to the well-being of patients with aphasia. A meaningful participation and social support improves quality of life in patients with aphasia and contributes to life satisfaction.  Keywords: activities, aphasia, communication, patient perspective, rehabilitation, stroke

New methods in genotype diagnostics of small-fruit crops for intensive gardening

Physiological and morphological studies of red Russian and foreign breeding red currant varieties were carried out for establishing intensive plantings and introduction. Varieties Dana, Niva, Vika, Hollandische Rote are yielding, highly resistant and promising for introduction and industrial cultivation, during dry periods they are able to regulate metabolism through changing indicators of water balance (water deficit, fractional composition of water) and photosynthetic apparatus of leaves (leaf lamina area). Using Natali, Shchedraya and Jonkheer Van Tets varieties in production is possible with application of artificial irrigation. Selyanochka variety is most affected by weather conditions and is recommended to be grown in temperate climate area. Physiological and morphological methods of research allow to diagnose the genotypes resistance of garden crops to growing period abiotic factors at the early stages of plant development, they are confirmed by field observations and are promising in diagnosis for establishing intensive gardens and berry-fields

Effect of marine feed additions on the digestibility of poultry nutrients

Poultry farming is one of the most important branch of animal husbandry. Poultry is very sensitive to a lack of protein, vitamins, microelements and macroelements. The lack of these substances is very bad for the health, development, growth and productivity of poultry. Primorsky Krai is rich in seafood, which is extracted in large quantities. In the process of processing seafood, a large amount of waste remains, which could be used for feed purposes, for feeding farm animals and poultry. The use of seafood waste would solve the problem with a nutrient deficiency in the diets of poultry. The digestibility of feed nutrients is a secondary indicator of their nutritional value. The better the nutrients are digested in the animal's body, the more nutritious the food is. In our research work, we studied the influence of marine hydrobionts on the digestibility of dietary nutrients