Region-Based Association Analysis of Human Quantitative Traits in Related Individuals

Regional-based association analysis instead of individual testing of each SNP was introduced in genome-wide association studies to increase the power of gene mapping, especially for rare genetic variants. For regional association tests, the kernel machine-based regression approach was recently proposed as a more powerful alternative to collapsing-based methods. However, the vast majority of existing algorithms and software for the kernel machine-based regression are applicable only to unrelated samples. In this paper, we present a new method for the kernel machine-based regression association analysis of quantitative traits in samples of related individuals. The method is based on the GRAMMAR+ transformation of phenotypes of related individuals, followed by use of existing kernel machine-based regression software for unrelated samples. We compared the performance of kernel-based association analysis on the material of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 family sample and real human data by using our transformation, the original untransformed trait, and environmental residuals. We demonstrated that only the GRAMMAR+ transformation produced type I errors close to the nominal value and that this method had the highest empirical power. The new method can be applied to analysis of related samples by using existing software for kernel-based association analysis developed for unrelated samples.     

BspLUII III, a bifunctional restriction and modification enzyme from a thermophilic strain Bacillus species LUII

BspLUII III, an isomer of FinI (1) and BsmFI (2), was found to cleave DNA at two points 10, 11 and 14, 15 bp in the different strands away from the recognition site, and in the presence of SAM it exhibits the adenine specific methyltransferase activity.     

Effect of the peroral use of the antitumor antibiotic, carminomycin, on the immunological reactivity of the body of animals]

Carminomycin administered orally to mice for many times in doses of 2.5 and 1.25 mg/kg induced suppression of hemagglutinine production to sheep erythrocytes and formation of immunologically competent cells in the spleen of test animals. The content of DNA and RNA in the spleen of the test animals treated with carminomycin and sheep erythrocytes was somewhat lower than that in the control mice immunized but not treated with the antibiotic. Carminomycin prolongated the life time of the skin graft by 6.5 days as compared to that of the skin homotransplant in the control animals. The oral use of carminomycin in a dose of 2.5 mg/kg induced a statistically significant decrease in the absorption capacity of the cells of the reticuloendothelial system of the animals.     

Analysis of the Adaptive Capabilities of the Reproductive System of the Bank Vole Myodes glareolus,Living on Territories with Geochemical Anomalies of the Natural Habitats

Biology Bulletin - This paper gives a morphofunctional analysis of the testes and ovaries of the bank vole (Myodes glareolus Shreb.), which lives in the territories of natural geochemical...     

Allozyme variability in common shrew Sorex araneus of Western Siberia

The allozyme variability of the common shrew Sorex araneus of Western Siberia is studied. The small level of genetic variability and lack of reliable differences in indices of polymorphism for taiga, subtaiga, and forest-steppe populations are revealed. A significant level of genetic differentiation in populations belonging to adjacent chromosomal races—Novosibirsk and Serov (F _st = 0.3) — has been shown.     

IgG from patients with liver diseases inhibit mitochondrial respiration in permeabilized oxidative muscle cells: Impaired function of intracellular energetic units?

The effect of IgG purified from the sera of healthy persons and patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and chronic hepatitis (CH) on ADP dependent respiration (oxidative phosphorylation) in skinned muscle fibers from rat oxidative muscles (heart and M. soleus) and glycolytic skeletal muscle (M. gastrocnemius) was studied. The results show that IgG from three different sources inhibited the rate of respiration by 13, 44 and 42%, respectively, these effects being equally expressed in both types of oxidative muscles, whereas no inhibition was observed in glycolytic muscle. The following washout of unbound IgG did not abolish the inhibition of respiration suggesting that the specific interaction of IgG with antigens had taken place. Laser confocal analysis revealed binding of IgG predominantly to the sarcomeric structures such as Z-disk and M-lines in the cardiomyocytes. The staining of IgG within Z-disks and intermitochondrial space coincided throughout the muscle cells so that transversally serial spaces, each containing mitochondria and adjacent sarcomere, became clearly visible. When the IgG from a CH patient was incubated with the skinned myocardial fibers of the desmin knockout mice, its binding to Z-disks and the sarcomeric area was found to be similar to that in normal cardiac muscle. However, the transversal staining pattern was disintegrated, because of the slippage of the myofibrils in relation to each other and accumulation of mitochondria between them. These observations support the recent hypothesis that in oxidative muscles the mitochondria and adjacent sarcomeres form complexes, termed as the intracellular energetic units, ICEUs. Moreover, they indicate that human autoantibodies can be useful tools for localizing the proteins responsible for formation of ICEUs and modulation of their function. Thus, it appears that the proteins associated with the Z-disks and M-lines may participate in formation of ICEUs and that binding of IgG to these proteins decreases the access of exogenous adenine nucleotides to mitochondria, which manifests as decreased rate of ADP-dependent respiration.     

Long-term changes in cohort structure of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria in the White Sea: growth rate affects lifespan and mortality

The population dynamics of a Mya arenaria cohort in the White Sea was studied throughout almost its entire duration (ca. 25 years). We aimed to study changes in the growth heterogeneity of the cohort in terms of individual growth rate and to find out whether there was a connection between the growth rate and both lifespan and mortality rate. Significant variation of the individual growth rate within the cohort of the soft-shell clams was detected. To a great extent it seemed to be determined by the characteristics of the growth achieved in the initial growth period (shell size by the start of the second growing season). Most of the cohort individuals (about 60%) had a similar growth rate during the study period. They belonged to the group of medium-growing clams and with a few exceptions represented the cohort at later stages of development (at the age of 16–24 years). In the most slow-growing group no individuals older than 15 years were found. Clams of this group had the highest mortality rate and the shortest lifespan. In all other groups, periods of low mortality alternated with periods of a much higher mortality. The survival of Mya arenaria seems to be affected mostly by the degree of protection (largely determined by burial depth), intraspecific relationships and ageing.