Genetic comparison was performed between mink populations with tame and aggressive behaviour. Six allotypes of the Lpm system; the А1М alpha macroglobulin; and two allotypes of the Ld system, homologue of APOB low-density lipoprotein, were analyzed. The populations differed in markers Lpm1, Lpm3, Lpm5, and Lpm10. Alleles with allotypes Lpm1 and Lpm3 were significantly associated with aggressive behavior, and allele Lpm non-10, with tame behavior. No statistically significant differences were found in frequencies of the Ld1 and Ld2 allotypes of the Ld low-density lipoprotein system.

Selection of pair-kept minks with regard to food use efficiency can be improved by a slight modification of the conventional selection method. The size of each animal should be corrected taking into account the size of its partner in the cage. This method changes the ranks of pedigree value, improving breeding efficiency. The quality of pair selection for mating can be improved by applying the principle «the best with the best». The developed method for selection of replacement young minks according to feed use efficiency increases the live weight return on food by up to 9–10 %.

Consequences of directional selection for fur blackening were studied in a captive sable population (Pushkinskoe fur farm, Moscow oblast). Crosses of four types were analyzed, in which males and females differed from each other in head fur color. Quantitative traits expressed as indices of reproduction: female fertility, average number of puppies per mated female, average number of puppies per whelped female, and mated but not fertilized females, were compared among the crosses. The lowest indices of reproduction were recorded when females and males with the most blackened fur were crossed. Reproduction indices were evaluated by two-way ANOVA. The results showed that the type of crossing (factor 1) significantly influenced all traits studied. The year of selection period (factor 2) was also significant for all traits, and the interaction of these two factors significantly influenced only one trait, «number of puppies per mated female». As a whole, positive dynamics of these traits was observed over a decade. Therefore, we presume that the continuation of artificial directional selection for sable fur blackening is promising. The main stages of the breeding are recognized, and further actions are outlined.

A tradeoff between reproductive success and immunity is observed in wild and laboratory animals owing to limited energy resources of an organism. Therefore, artificial selection of farm animals for reproductive indices may be accompanied by reduced immune response. Formerly, a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the PANE1 gene for a minor histocompatibility antigen was demonstrated to be positively associated with immunological blood indices and negatively associated with birthweight in Landrace pigs (Huang et al., 2010). In the present study, the frequency of the SNP was determined in domestic pigs and wild boars, and its association with reproductive indices in pigs of the Large White breed. Wild boars, domestic Landrace pigs, and Large White pigs did not differ significantly in the frequency of the rare G allele of PANE1: 11,8, 12,2, and 20,0 %, respectively. Carriership of the CG genotype in females reduced the live litter size and weight.

This article shows that weight dynamics in newborn domestic pig individuals reflects adaptive changes in the gene pool of the population. Our results show that the coordination of the gene pool with altered ambient conditions in domestic pigs may be long. It includes at least two time spans in which different selection vectors act. The first period forms a positive link between weight at birth and weight in maturity, and the second period destroys that link.

The article provides a full description of genesis, formation conditions, genealogic and genetic structure of the ICG minipig population. It shows the present state of the population and its unique features (in comparison to other minipigs) that can be interesting for breeders and geneticists. Experimental material of 1990–1992 (population foundation) and 2012–2013 (recent) is invoked.

Study of the populational dynamics of Siberian miniature pigs for the gag and env loci of endogenous pig retroviruses is reported. Currently, the frequency of carriers of types A, B, and C of PERV genomes in minipigs is high. Their breeding conducted from 2005 till 2013 increased the percentage of animals free from type B retroviruses.

Epigenetic mechanisms controlling long-term memory formation are a promising field in neurobiology. They include posttraslational histone modifications, which lead to chromatin remodeling and thereby influences gene expression involved in learning. Mollusks are a popular model in neurobiology, because they have relatively simple CNSs with giant neurons. Previously, we found strong induction of histone H3 acetylation and methylation during food aversion conditioning in Helix. We think that these processes are regulated by modulatory mediator serotonin, playing an important role in avoidance behavior. To study the influence of serotonin on induction of epigenetic processes, we investigated the action of an unselective antagonist of serotonin receptors, metitepine, on the acetylation and methylation of histone H3 during Helix learning. We found that metitepine treatment prevented activation of methylation and acetylation of H3 induced by learning in the CNS of the snail and deteriorates long term memory formation. Long-term memory formation in metitepine-treated animals can be improved by treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitor Na В. Our data confirm the important role of serotonin in the induction of epigenetic processes during aversion conditioning in Helix.

The Drosophila mercatorum species of neotropical origin is composed of two subspecies: mercatorum and pararepleta. The D. m. mercatorum subspecies is synanthropic. It appeared in Eurasia in the middle of the 20th century and dispersed widely. The objects of the study were: D. m. mercatorum specimens from Asian populations, D. mercatorum laboratory stock 2328 (showing some morphological differences), D. busckii and D. virilis specimens, and the sequence of the COI gene of D. mercatorum, NCBI accession number DQ471607. The variability of standard DNA sequences used for species identification (COI fragment and ITS1-ITS2 fragment of rRNA genes) was investigated in these specimens. Asian specimens of D. m. mercatorum had identical COI sequences to each other but differed from sequences of stock 2328 and NCBI sequence. The Asian specimens and stock 2328 were identical in ITS1-ITS2 sequences. The low degree of nucleotide differences between the Asian specimens and morphological distinct stock 2328 in the nucleotide sequences of the COI gene fragment and absence of differences in ITS1-ITS2 of rRNA genes indicate that divergence between these two groups is within the intraspecies variation.

The symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia is widespread in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations. Its frequency in D. melanogaster populations is broadly variable from occasional individuals to total infestation. Six genotypes are recognized in this symbiont: wMel, wMel2, wMel3, wMel4, wMelCS, and wMelCS2. Two of them are ubiquitous: wMel and wMelCS. Others occur either in local areas or in laboratory stocks. In spite of the studies of Wolbachia occurrence in D. melanogaster populations of the world, the information of its prevalence and genotypic diversity in Eurasian populations is still scarce. We analyze the prevalence and genotypic diversity of Wolbachia in the natural D. melanogaster population of the city of Nalchik. It is shown that the genotypic composition of Wolbachia and its frequency in the population have remained stable for four years. Two genotypes are present in the population: wMel and wMelCS, the former being predominant. We found no other Wolbachia genotypes in the Nalchik D. melanogaster population. 

In most natural populations, intraspecies competition for natural resources is supplemented by a predator impact. We suppose that the mode and intensity of the interaction between a prey and its predator affects the course of competitive or sympatric speciation among the prey and processes of co-evolution or cospeciation. Mathematical methods allow development of models precisely describing all sides of intra and interspecies interactions. In this paper, we use mathematical modeling to investigate the effect of the intensity of interspecies interactions on competitive or sympatric speciation inside a prey population. The iIntensity of the interaction is the average number of prey which predators eat in a unit of time: the higher is the number of prey eaten by predators, the greater is the intensity of the interaction. In mathematical models, the intensity of such interaction is determined by many parameters. Changes in these parameters will affect the intensity of the interaction. It was found that sufficiently high intensity of interaction slows down competitive speciation among the prey. The preys in this case, seeking to avoid the impact of predators by altering their adaptive traits. Another important result was that the speciation of predators follows prey speciation when the probability of mutational changes in adaptive traits of predators exceeds that in the prey.

Sequence-specific (regulatory) transcription factors selectively regulate the transcription levels of different sets of eukaryotic genes depending on cell type, developmental stage, and external signals. Recruitment of the RNA-polymerase II transcription initiation apparatus to promoters by regulatory transcription factors is generally recognized as the key mechanism responsible for transcription control by these proteins. However, recent data indicate that regulatory transcription factors may also be involved in transcription elongation control. These data are summarized here.

The spatial organization of an eukaryotic genome plays an important role in the control of nuclear gene expression. The new Hi-C method allows investigation of the three-dimensional architecture of whole genomes. It has not been applied to study of the spatial configuration of a germ cell genome hitherto. Here we describe a protocol for production and quality control of Hi-C libraries from fibroblasts and sperm cells. Our results demonstrate that the Hi-C method can be used for studying the spatial organization of the densely packed sperm genome.

The major tasks of neurobiology include the understanding of mechanisms governing long-term memory formation and search for means to improve memory. Animals with dysfunction of the serotonergic system are a convenient model for investigation of memory processes. The ablation of serotonergic neurons by the neurotoxin 5,7-DOT leads to inability of the mollusks to form an aversive food avoidance reflex. Previously we have found that epigenetic processes, such as histone methylation and acetylation, are involved in the formation of food aversion, and that disturbance of these processes leads to inability to form long-term memory. The goal of the current study was to investigate the possibility to reverse long-term memory in DOT-treated animals through the induction of acetylation processes. We found that treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors NаB and Trichostatin А significantly increased the ability of DOT-treated animals to form the food aversion reflex. The results point to an important role of serotonin in the induction of the epigenetic processes mediating the formation of this type of long-term memory. By induction of acetylation processes, we managed to improve memory parameters significantly. Our “Neurodegeneration” model, based on ablation of serotonergic neurons, can be useful in studies of the epigenetic mechanisms underlying long-term memory destruction and screening of compounds crucial for memory formation.

Interleukin IL-12 is a key proinflammatory cytokine, synthesized by macrophages, but the information concerning the dioxin effect on its expression is still fragmentary. The presence of previously identified potential dioxin responsive elements (DREs) in the regulatory regions of IL12A and IL12B genes, encoding IL-12 subunits IL-12p35 and IL-12p40, respectively, suggests direct activation of these genes by binding of the dioxin/AhR/ARNT complex to DREs. This work proves the binding capacity of these DREs by gel shift assay. The study of the dynamics of IL12A and IL12B gene expression in the human macrophage cell line U937 revealed no influence of dioxin on IL12A expression. In contrast, activation of IL12B gene expression with subsequent inhibition was noted. The observed dynamics can be explained by direct activation of the expression by the dioxin-containing complex and subsequent inhibition of the expression because of oxidative stress caused by dioxin. Thus, the well-known dioxin influence on the immune system can be associated with the difference in the dioxin effect on the expression dynamics of the genes encoding IL-12 subunits.

The present work concerns the development of locomotor activity, rates of weight gain, vibrissa growth, and time of eyelid opening in two inbred rate strains in the early development. The strains were: rats with inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension (ISIAH) and Wistar Albino Glaxo (WAG) rats as control. Different dynamics of weight gain and vibrissae growth were shown. However, the strains did not differ in the rate of hair growth and time of eyelid openings. Pups of the ISIAH strain exhibited a delay in behavioral maturation in the first week of postnatal development compared to WAG pups of the same age and showed higher locomotor activity in the second week. Differences in behavior between ISIAH and WAG strains in the open field test in the third week revealed higher levels of exploratory behavior and adaptability of ISIAH pups in the novel environment than in WAG pups. Thus, pups of the ISIAH and WAG strains differed significantly in indices of motor development within the first three weeks of postnatal development but not in vibrissa growth, hair coat formation, or eye opening by the end of the 2nd week.

According to a study conducted in 2011–2012, Puccinia recondita populations from Ulyanovsk and Bezenchuk share one geographic range of leaf rust variety formation and dispersal. At the same time, a significant similarity between the structures of the Middle Volga population and of populations from North Caucasus and Northwestern Russia was shown. Clones virulent to Lr 9 and 41 were absent from all regions examined. The virulence genes plr19, plr24, plr28, plr29, plr47 occurred at low frequencies.

The results of breeding of hulled and naked Siberian spring barley varieties for various purposes, characterized by early ripening, high productivity, large seed sets, and tolerance of adverse environmental factors, are reviewed.

The results of an international expedition to the Republic of Armenia in the summer of 2013 are presented. An important result of field work is the discovery of several habitats of wheats Triticum araraticum Jakubz. and T. boeoticum Boiss.

Japanese varieties of Iris ensata Thunb. were being imported to Russia for more than 100 years ago by several scientists (E. Regel, N.I. Vavilov, V.M. Nosilov, V.T. Palvelyev), and in 1980s these varieties were tested in the Central Botanical Garden of RAS and in most cases, they failed (Rodionenko, 2002; Mironova, 2008). The first varieties were developed by G.I. Rodionenko. Japanese varieties were successfully introduced under forest-steppe conditions of the Altai Territory at the Lisavenko RI of Horticulture for Siberia (RIHS), and then breeding was conducted with the participation of retro varieties developed in 1980–1982. Crossing of geographically distant varieties, first, French and Japanese, and then, Altai, Far-Eastern, Leningrad and American, brought about 150 adapted ornamental genotypes and 15 of I. ensata varieties. In the progeny of varieties with simple flowers, genotypes with double and half-double flowers were selected, and in the progeny of the last ones, fertile genotype with 12 lobes of perianth. Pollen quality of the selected I. ensata genotypes was nearly as good as in the Altai species I. ruthenica and I. glaucescens: pollen fertility was 77,6 %, and viability, 53,1 %. Fruit formation of cultivars with simple flowers was 54 %, with double, 9 %, and with forced crossing 93 and 73 %, respectively. The fruit contained 5–116 seeds; their weight was 6–9 g; and germinative capacity, 1–37 %. Seedlings of 3–20 % plants of a group came to flowering in 3–5 years. Eight donors with high productivity, new colour, and flower shape were selected. During breeding, flower diameter increased from 12 to 20 cm; the width of upper perianth lobes, from 2 to 8 cm; and lower, from 7 to 9 cm. The range of flower colouring extended to 11 groups.

By the example of fast-ageing Allium fistulosum seeds, it is shown that the storage temperature of +4, –6 and –18 °C, regardless of the used gas atmosphere does not affect laboratory germination, mitotic activity, or the frequency of chromosome aberrations and lags in the apical meristem of seedling roots in comparison to the control. The conditions best for seed storage are: +4 °C (argon, carbon dioxide), –6 °C (air, argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) and –18 °C (air), as proven by the lowest frequency of micronuclei in root cells of seedlings.

The objectives of the study were the detection of phenological traits essential for the evaluation of genetically determined differences in phenological type in tobacco and investigation of their genetics. Analysis of the variation pattern of the phenological trait complex in a tobacco variety collection showed no difference in the genetic determination between the vegetative and generative periods of tobacco plant development. Six genotype classes were found in the collection with regard to phenological type. The mode of independence between the genetic systems operating at the vegetative and generative stages of tobacco development was considered by logical analysis of relationships among the terms genotype, phenological type, and genetic program with the use of the set theory.