О РАЗВИТИИ ЭКСПОРТНОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ*

The paper deals with the export potential of the Republic of Belarus and the main directions of its development. Construction principles and the essence of the export potential, the role and value of which increases with the openness of national economies to the outside world are presented. Analyzed are the trends in the foreign trade of Belarus as well as the place of Belarus in the world market in respect of the production of basic goods, export and import of major agricultural raw materials and food, influencing factors of export development, measures and mechanisms of the export support including the government support. Proposals for improving the basic directions of the development of export potential of Belarus have been worked out to promote goods to foreign markets.В научной статье рассматривается экспортный потенциал Республики Беларусь, основные направления его развития. Показаны сущность экспортного потенциала, роль и значение которого возрастает по мере открытости национальных экономик государств внешнему миру, принципы построения. Проанализированы тенденции во внешней торговле товарами в Республике Беларусь; место Беларуси по выпуску основных товаров на мировом рынке; экспорт и импорт важнейших видов сельскохозяйственного сырья и продовольствия; сдерживающие факторы развития экспорта; меры и механизмы поддержки экспорта, в том числе механизм государственной поддержки. Разработаны предложения по совершенствованию направлений развития экспортного потенциала Республики Беларусь для активизации продвижения товаров на внешние рынки

Degradation of chlorophyll and synthesis of flavonols during autumn senescence-the story told by individual leaves

Autumn senescence of deciduous trees is characterized by chlorophyll degradation and flavonoid synthesis. In the present study, chlorophyll and flavonol contents were measured every morning and evening during the whole autumn with a non-destructive method from individual leaves of Sorbus aucuparia, Acer platanoides, Betula pendula and Prunus padus. In most of the studied trees, the chlorophyll content of each individual leaf remained constant until a phase of rapid degradation commenced. The fast phase lasted only similar to 1 week and ended with abscission. In S. aucuparia, contrary to the other species, the chlorophyll content of leaflets slowly but steadily decreased during the whole autumn, but rapid chlorophyll degradation commenced only prior to leaflet abscission also in this species. An increase in flavonols commonly accompanied the rapid degradation of chlorophyll. The results may suggest that each individual tree leaf retains its photosynthetic activity, reflected by a high chlorophyll content, until a rapid phase of chlorophyll degradation and flavonoid synthesis begins. Therefore, in studies of autumn senescence, leaves whose chlorophyll content is decreasing and leaves with summertime chlorophyll content (i.e. the leaves that have not yet started to degrade chlorophyll) should be treated separately

Glutathione in Synechocystis 6803: A closer look into the physiology of a ΔgshB mutant

Glutathione (GSH) is a low molecular weight thiol compound that plays many roles in photosynthetic organisms. We utilized a ΔgshB (glutathione synthetase) mutant strain as a tool to evaluate the role of GSH in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (hereafter Synechocystis 6803), a model photosynthetic organism. The ΔgshB mutant does not synthesize glutathione, but instead accumulates the GSH precursor, γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC), to millimolar levels. We found that γ-EC was sufficient to permit cellular proliferation during optimal conditions, but not when cells were exposed to conditions promoting oxidative stress. Furthermore, we found that many factors affecting growth rate and photosynthetic activities strongly influenced cellular thiol content. Here, we are providing some additional insights into the role of GSH and γ-EC in Synechocystis 6803 during conditions promoting oxidative stress