Genetic differentiation of pedunculate oak Quercus robur L. in the European part of Russia based on RAPD markers

Using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD), genetic variation and differentiation in four populations of pedunculate oak Quercus robur L. were examined. The populations occupy a large part of the Quercus robur range in the European Russia (Voronezh and Novgorod oblasts; Republics of Mordovia and Bashkortostan). With each of six random primers (A02, A09, A17, B01, B08, B11), 96 DNA samples were analyzed by PCR. In all, 48 putative polymorphic RAPD loci were detected. We failed to reveal population-specific DNA fragments for any primer although the frequencies of 14 fragments were significantly different among populations. The oak populations studied exhibited high variability: 73-90% of genes were polymorphic and the effective allele number was about 1.4. The total genetic variation varied from 0.202 (Vor) to 0.245 (Nov), which corresponded to the estimates for populations of this species from Central and Western Europe. The populations examined showed low among-population differentiation (GST = 0.098); gene flow Nem was 4.61. The proportion of among-population variation of the RAPD loci studied accounted for 7% of the total variability; more than 93% of the total variability was explained by individual and within--population variation.     

Survival strategy of photosynthetic organisms. 2. Experimental proof of the size variability of the unit building block of light-harvesting oligomeric antenna

The present series of papers is part of an integrated research program to understand the effective functional strategy of native light-harvesting molecular antennae in photosynthetic organisms. This work tackles the problem of the structural optimization of light-harvesting antennae of variable size. In vivo, the size responds to the illumination intensity, thus implying more sophisticated optimization strategies, since larger antenna size demands finer structural tuning. Earlier modeling experiments showed that the aggregation of the antenna pigments, apart from being itself a universal structural factor of functional antenna optimization with any (!) spatial lattice of light-harvesting molecules, determines the antenna performance provided that the degree of aggregation varies: the larger the unit building block, the higher the efficacy of the whole structure. It means that altering the degree of pigment aggregation in response to the antenna size is biologically expedient. In the case of the oligomeric chlorosomal antenna of green bacteria, the strategy of variable antenna structural optimization in response to the illumination intensity was demonstrated to take place in vivo and facilitate high antenna performance regardless of its size, thus allowing bacteria to survive in diverse illumination conditions.     

Overproduction of agouti-protein did not affect cAMP level but increased steroidogenesis in adrenal glands under forskolin stimulation

Mutation Agouti yellow (Ay) in mice Ay/a results in overproduction of agouti protein (AP), adult onset of obesity, increased corticosterone responses to restrain stress as compared with a/a mice (absence of AP). The enhanced corticosterone response in restrained Ay/a-mice compared with restrained a/a-mice occurred in result of increased adrenal reactivity to ACTH. The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of AP overproduction on adenylate cyclase (AC) activity and steroidogenesis in forskolin stimulated adrenal cells. To estimate obesity influence, these parameters were measured in young (3 weeks) and adult (15 weeks) animals. The data obtained demonstrated that AP overproduction and the obesity did not affect the AC activity. However, forskolin stimulated corticosterone production in Ay/a-mice was higher than in a/a-mice (in young--during 0.5 h, in adult--during 3 hrs of incubation). So AP overproduction and obesity affect the corticosterone production. We hypothesize that AP overproduction affects steroidogenesis gene expression: accelerates gene activation in ontogenesis and increases enzyme de novo synthesis during long-term stimulation in adults.     

Use of ceftriaxone in the prevention of postoperative purulent complications after surgery on the stomach and small intestine]

Ceftriaxone was administered intravenously in a single dose of 1.0 g 15 minutes prior to surgical intervention for peptic ulcer and gastric or duodenum tumor in 31 patients at the age of 33 to 74 years. In all the patients primary adhesion of the surgical wound was recorded. No signs of local or general infection were observed. The indices of the total blood count, urinalysis and blood biochemical analysis came to normal by the 5th or the 7th day of the postoperative period. The levels of ceftriaxone in the blood, urine, stomach wall, small intestine tissues and subcutaneous fat were evaluated. The indices of the cellular and humoral immunity in the pre- and postoperative periods in the patients prophylactically treated with ceftriaxone were analyzed.     

Changes in the frequency of cells with micronuclei in cell populations of rat transplantable rhabdomyosarcoma RA-2 as a result of selection for an increased and a decreased frequency of such cells]

Artificial selection for increasing and decreasing frequencies of cells with micronuclei (FCM) was conducted in populations of cell clones of the rat transplantable RA-2 rabdomyosarcoma. The selection was effective in both the opposite directions. The average FCM increased from 3.3 +/- 0.2 to 6.9 +/- 0.6% and decreased from 3.3 +/- 0.2 to 1.6 +/- 0.2%. Heritability coefficient, h2, varied from 0.2 to 0.4. In the cell population with increased FCM, 37% of anaphases and early telophases had lagged chromosomes and fragments. In contrast, in the cell population with decreased FCM, lagging were observed in 11% of cases. The DNA-content in G1 cell varied greatly in cell population with increased FCM (P < 0.01). The selection for increased FCM has led to a significant decrease in metastatic capacities of cells.