Searching for and Revealing Pleistocene Refugia of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. in Central Yakutia

As a result of allozyme analysis, Nei’s genetic distances were determined between the phylogeographic group of seven populations of Pinus sylvestris L. in the “glacial” zone of the range in Central Yakutia and 25 populations of its hypothetical Pleistocene refugia of the southern nonglacial zone within the entire range of the species in Northern Eurasia. The location of the most likely “avant-garde” refugium of the modern yakutian populations of the Scots pine is Northern Priamur’e (Tynda), as well as less likely Siberian (Romanovka, Irkutsk), South Ural (Kryktytau), and Central European (the Czech Republic) refugia.     

The Saprotrophic Bacterial Complex in the Raised Peat Bogs of Western Siberia

The population density of bacteria in peat deposits along the landscape profile of the Vasyugan Marsh has been found to be as high as tens of millions of CFU/g peat. The abundance and diversity of bacteria increased with depth within the peat deposit, correlating with an increasing level of peat degradation. Variations in these parameters with depth and season were greater in peat deposits located in transaccumulative and transitional positions than in the sedge-sphagnum bogs located at the eluvial region of the profile. In the upper 1-m-thick layer of the peat deposits studied, bacilli, represented by five species, dominated, whereas, in the deeper layers, spirilla and myxobacteria prevailed. These bacteria are major degraders of plant polymers. Unlike the bacterial communities found in the peat deposits of European Russia, the dominant taxa in the studied peat deposits of western Siberia are represented by bacteria resistant to extreme conditions.__________Translated from Mikrobiologiya, Vol. 74, No. 4, 2005, pp. 545–551.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Golovchenko, Sannikova, Dobrovol’skaya, Zvyagintsev.     

The Load of Hereditary Diseases in the Population of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Summarized data of medical genetic survey of the population of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are presented. The number of the population examined constituted 1 000 700 individuals (including 424 500 of urban and 576 200 of rural population, respectively). Regarding the ethnicity, 33 regions of the Republic examined were at most inhabited by Yakuts (36%) and Russians (55%). A total of 400 families (606 patients) with autosomal dominant, 274 families (369 patients) with autosomal recessive, and 42 families (53 patients) with X-linked pathologies were detected. The segregation analysis performed showed good correlation with the expected type of inheritance for both dominant and recessive diseases. The prevalence rate of monogenic hereditary diseases for rural and urban populations, as well as for solely Yakuts, was calculated. It was shown that weighted average prevalence of dominant (0.68; 1.44) and recessive (0.43; 0.86) disorders in Yakuts was two times higher than in total population examined.     

The Structure and Diversity of Hereditary Pathology in Sakha Republic (Yakutia)

The diversity of Mendelian hereditary pathology has been studied in Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The sample comprised 1 000 700 subjects, including 363 316 Yakuts, 14 428 Evenks, 8668 Evens, 550 263 Russians, and 64 025 subjects from other ethnic groups. Fifty-one autosomal dominant (AD) diseases, including five diseases with frequencies of 1 : 50 000 or higher; 40 autosomal recessive (AR) diseases, including eight diseases with frequencies of 1 : 50 000 or higher in the Yakut population; and five X-linked diseases have been detected.     

Anti-influenza activity of monoterpene-containing substituted coumarins

Compounds simultaneously carrying the monoterpene and coumarin moieties have been tested for cytotoxicity and inhibition of activity against influenza virus A/California/07/09 (H1N1)pdm09. The structure of substituents in the coumarin framework, as well as the structure and the absolute configuration of the monoterpenoid moiety, are shown to significantly influence the anti-influenza activity and cytotoxicity of the compounds under study. The compounds with a bicyclic pinane framework exhibit the highest selectivity indices (the ratios between the cytotoxicity and the active dose). The derivative of (?)-myrtenol 15c, which is characterized by promising activity, low cytotoxicity, and synthetic accessibility, has the greatest potential among this group of compounds. It exhibited the highest activity when added to the infected cell culture at early stages of viral reproduction.     

The saprotrophic bacterial complex in the raised peat bogs of Western Siberia

The population density of bacteria in peat deposits along the landscape profile of the Vasyugan Marsh has been found to be as high as tens of millions of CFU/g peat. The abundance and diversity of bacteria increased with depth within the peat deposit, correlating with an increasing level of peat degradation. Variations in these parameters with depth and season were greater in peat deposits located in transaccumulative and transitional positions than in the sedge-sphagnum bogs located at the eluvial region of the profile. In the upper 1-m-thick layer of the peat deposits studied, bacilli, represented by five species, dominated, whereas, in the deeper layers, spirilla and myxobacteria prevailed. These bacteria were major degraders of plant polymers. Unlike the bacterial communities found in the peat deposits of European Russia, the dominant taxa in the studied peat deposits of Western Siberia are represented by bacteria resistant to extreme conditions.     

Burden of hereditary diseases in residents of the Sakh republic (Iakutiia)

Summarized data of medical genetic survey of the population of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are presented. The number of the population examined constituted 1000700 individuals (including 424500000 of urban and 576,200 of rural population, respectively). Regarding the ethnicity, 33 regions of the Republic examined were at most inhabited by Yakuts (36%) and Russians (55%). A total of 400 families (606 patients) with autosomal dominant, 274 families (369 patients) with autosomal recessive, and 42 families (53 patients) with X-linked pathologies were detected. The segregation analysis performed showed good correlation with the expected type of inheritance for both dominant and recessive diseases. The prevalence rate of monogenic hereditary diseases for rural and urban populations, as well as for solely Yakuts, was calculated. It was shown that weighted average prevalence of dominant (0.68; 1.44) and recessive (0.43; 0.86) disorders in Yakuts was two times higher than in total population examined.     

Tylopeptin B peptide antibiotic in lipid membranes at low concentrations: Self-assembling,mutual repulsion and localization

The medium-length peptide Tylopeptin B possesses activity against Gram-positive bacteria. It binds to bacterial membranes altering their mechanical properties and increasing their permeability. This action is commonly related with peptide self-assembling, resulting in the formation of membrane channels. Here, pulsed double electron-electron resonance (DEER) data for spin-labeled Tylopeptin B in palmitoyl-oleoyl-glycero-phosphocholine (POPC) model membrane reveal that peptide self-assembling starts at concentration as low as 0.1 mol%; above 0.2 mol% it attains a saturation-like dependence with a mean number of peptides in the cluster <n> = 3.3. Using the electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) technique, Tylopeptin B molecules are found to possess a planar orientation in the membrane. In the peptide concentration range between 0.1 and 0.2 mol%, DEER data show that the peptide clusters have tendency of mutual repulsion, with a circle of inaccessibility of radius around 20 nm. It may be proposed that within this radius the peptides destabilize the membrane, providing so the peptide antimicrobial activity. Exploiting spin-labeled stearic acids as a model for free fatty acids (FFA), we found that at concentrations of 0.1–0.2 mol% the peptide promotes formation of lipid-mediated FFA clusters; further increase in peptide concentration results in dissipation of these clusters.