Under many kinds of stress, eukaryotic cells rapidly decrease the overall translation level of the majority of mRNAs. However, some molecular mechanisms of protein synthesis inhibition like phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2), which are known to be functional in animals and yeast, are not implemented in plants. We suggest that there is an alternative mechanism for the inhibition of protein synthesis in plant cells and possibly, in other eukaryotes, which is based on the discrete fragmentation of 18S rRNA molecules within small ribosomal subunits. We identified four stressinduced small RNAs, which are 5’and 3’-terminal fragments of 18S rRNA. In the present work, we studied the induction of 18S rRNA discrete fragmentation and phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) in germinated wheat embryos in the presence of glyphosate, which imitates the condition of amino acid starvation. Using northern and western blotting, we have shown that stress-induced 18S rRNA fragments started to accumulate in wheat embryos at glyphosate concentrations that did not evoke eIF2α phosphorylation. It was also found that cleavage of 18S rRNA near the 5’-terminus began much earlier than eIF2α phosphorylation, which became noticeable only at higher concentration (500 μM) of glyphosate. This result suggests that discrete fragmentation of 18S rRNA may constitute a regulatory mechanism of mRNA translation in response to stress and may occur in plant cells in parallel with and independently of eIF2α phosphorylation. The identified small 5’and 3’-terminal fragments of 18S rRNA that accumulate during various stresses may serve as stress resistance markers in the breeding of economically important plant crops.

Meiotic crossing over is the main mechanism for constructing a new allelic composition of individual chromosomes and is necessary for the proper distribution of homologous chromosomes between gametes. The parameters of meiotic crossing over that have developed in the course of evolution are determined by natural selection and do not fully suit the tasks of selective breeding research. This review summarizes the results of experimental studies aimed at increasing the frequency of crossovers and redistributing their positions along chromosomes using genetic manipulations at different stages of meiotic recombination. The consequences of inactivation and/or overexpression of the SPO11 genes, the products of which generate meiotic double-strand breaks in DNA, for the redistribution of crossover positions in the genome of various organisms are discussed. The results of studies concerning the effect of inactivation or overexpression of genes encoding RecA-like recombinases on meiotic crossing over, including those in cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and its interspecific hybrids, are summarized. The consequences of inactivation of key genes of the mismatch repair system are discussed. Their suppression made it possible to significantly increase the frequency of meiotic recombination between homeologues in the interspecific hybrid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae × S. paradoxus and between homologues in arabidopsis plants (Arabidopsis thaliana L.). Also discussed are attempts to extrapolate these results to other plant species, in which a decrease in reproductive properties and microsatellite instability in the genome have been noted. The most significant results on the meiotic recombination frequency increase upon inactivation of the FANCM, TOP3α, RECQ4, FIGL1 crossover repressor genes and upon overexpression of the HEI10 crossover enhancer gene are separately described. In some experiments, the increase of meiotic recombination frequency by almost an order of magnitude and partial redistribution of the crossover positions along chromosomes were achieved in arabidopsis while fully preserving fecundity. Similar results have been obtained for some crops.

The perennial grass cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) is a valuable early highly nutritious crop used as green fodder in agricultural production. The species is widespread across the Eurasian continent; it is characterized by plasticity and high ecological and geographical variability. The article considers the metabolic profiles of 15 accessions of the cocksfoot from the collection of the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR). The material is represented by varieties and wild forms of various origin: the European part of the Russian Federation, Norway and Finland. The study was carried out using gas-liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The study and comparison of groups of metabolites of cocksfoot accessions of various ecological and geographical origin was carried out. Statistical processing included the calculation of the main parameters of variability, factor analysis of the correlation system (Qand R-technique), cluster analysis by Ward’s method and discriminant analysis. The variability of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the substances identified was revealed. Based on statistical processing of the results obtained, five groups of cocksfoot accessions were identified, differing in the profile of metabolites. One of the groups with a similar composition of metabolites consisted of accessions from one ecological and geographical region; another, of accessions of different origin. Significant differences were noted in the metabolomic profiles of a late-maturing wild cocksfoot accession from the Republic of Karelia at the booting stage from earlyand mid-maturing accessions at the heading stage; it contained the largest number of free amino acids and the smallest number of identified primary and secondary metabolites. Wild-growing accession k-44020 from Norway surpassed other wild-growing accessions in the content of free amino acids, sugars and phosphates at the heading stage. Wildgrowing accessions differed from breeding varieties with a high content of proline and threonine, indicators of high resistance to lack of moisture and high air temperature.

Alkaloid content was assessed in the seeds of 59 narrow-leafed lupine (Lupinus angustifolius L.) accessions from the VIR collection in the environments of Leningrad Province. The selected set included accessions of different statuses (wild forms, landraces, and advanced cultivars) and different years of introduction to the collection. Alkaloids were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Concentrations of main alkaloids: lupanine, 13-hydroxylupanine, sparteine, angustifoline and isolupanine, and their total content were measured. The total alkaloid content variability identified in the seeds of the studied set of accessions was 0.0015 to 2.017 %. In most cases, the value of the character corresponded to the accession’s status: modern improved cultivars, with the exception of green manure ones, entered the group with the range of 0.0015–0.052 %, while landraces and wild forms showed values from 0.057 to 2.17 %. It is meaningful that the second group mainly included accessions that came to the collection before the 1950s, i. e., before the times when low-alkaloid cultivars were intensively developed. Strong variability of the character across the years was observed in the accessions grown under the same soil and climate conditions in both years. In 2019, the average content of alkaloids in the sampled set was 1.9 times higher than in 2020. An analysis of weather conditions suggested that the decrease in alkaloid content occurred due to a significant increase in total rainfall in 2020. Searching for links between the content of alkaloids and the type of pod (spontaneously non-dehiscent, or cultivated, spontaneously dehiscent, or wild, and intermediate) showed a tendency towards higher (approximately twofold in both years of research) total alkaloid content in the accessions with the wild pod type and the nearest intermediate one compared to those with the pod non-dehiscent without threshing. The correlation between the average total alkaloid content and seed color, reduced to three categories (dark, or wild, light, or cultivated, and intermediate), was significantly stronger in the group with dark seeds (5.2 times in 2019, and 3.7 times in 2020). There were no significant differences in the percentage of individual alkaloids within the total amount either between the years of research or among the groups with different pod types or the groups with different seed coat colors.

One of the most common and harmful diseases of grapevine is downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola. Cultivars of Vitis vinifera, the basis of high-quality viticulture, are mainly not resistant to downy mildew. Varieties with natural resistance to downy mildew belong to the vine species of North America and Asia (V. aestivalis, V. berlandieri, V. cinerea, V. labrusca, V. amurensis, etc.), as well as Muscadinia rotundifolia. The breeding of resistant cultivars is based on interspecific crossing. Currently, molecular genetic methods are increasingly used in pre-selection work and directly in breeding. One of the major loci of downy mildew resistance, Rpv10, was first identified in the variety Solaris and was originally inherited from wild V. amurensis. DNA markers that allow detecting Rpv10 in grapevine genotypes are known. We used PCR analysis to search for donors of resistance locus among 30 grape cultivars that, according to their pedigrees, could carry Rpv10. The work was performed using an automatic genetic analyzer, which allows obtaining high-precision data. Rpv10 locus allele, which determines resistance to the downy mildew pathogen, has been detected in 10 genotypes. Fingerprinting of grape cultivars with detected Rpv10 was performed at 6 reference SSR loci. DNA marker analysis revealed the presence of a resistance allele in the cultivar Korinka russkaya, which, according to publicly available data, is the offspring of the cultivar Zarya Severa and cannot carry Rpv10. Using the microsatellite loci polymorphism analysis and the data from VIVC database, it was found that Korinka russkaya is the progeny of the cultivar Severnyi, which is the donor of the resistance locus Rpv10. The pedigree of the grapevine cultivar Korinka russkaya was also clarified.

A range of environmental factors restricts the production of chickpea; therefore, introducing compatible cultivars to a range of environments is an important goal in breeding programs. This research aims to find high-yielding and stable chickpea genotypes to rainfed condition. Fourteen advanced chickpea genotypes with two control cultivars were cultivated in a randomized complete block design in four regions of Iran during 2017–2020 growing seasons. The first two principal components of AMMI explained 84.6 and 10.0 % of genotype by environment interactions, respectively. Superior genotypes based on simultaneous selection index of ASV (ssiASV), ssiZA, ssiDi and ssiWAAS were G14, G5, G9 and G10; those based on ssiEV and ssiSIPC were G14, G5, G10 and G15 and those based on ssiMASD were G14, G5, G10 and G15. The AMMI1 biplot identified G5, G12, G10 and G9 as stable and high-yielding genotypes. Genotypes G6, G5, G10, G15, G14, G9 and G3 were the most stable genotypes in the AMMI2 biplot. Based on the harmonic mean and relative performance of genotypic values, G11, G14, G9 and G13 were the top four superior genotypes. Factorial regression indicated that rainfall is very important at the beginning and end of the growing seasons. Genotype G14, in many environments and all analytical and experimental approaches, has good performance and stability. Partial least squares regression identified genotype G5 as a suitable genotype for moisture and temperature stresses conditions. Therefore, G14 and G5 could be candidates for introduction of new cultivars.

Earthworms are an important ecological group that has a significant impact on soil fauna as well as plant communities. Despite their importance, genetic diversity and phylogeny of earthworms are still insufficiently studied. Most studies on earthworm genetic diversity are currently based on a few mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Mitochondrial genomes are becoming a promising target for phylogeny reconstruction in earthworms. However, most studies on earthworm mitochondrial genomes were made on West European and East Asian species, with much less sampling from other regions. In this study, we performed sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Dendrobaena tellermanica Perel, 1966 from the Northern Caucasus. This species was earlier included into D. schmidti (Michaelsen, 1907), a polytypic species with many subspecies. The genome was assembled as a single contig 15,298 bp long which contained a typical gene set: 13 protein-coding genes (three subunits of cytochrome c oxidase, seven subunits of NADH dehydrogenase, two subunits of ATP synthetase, and cytochrome b), 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. All genes were located on one DNA strand. The assembled part of the control region, located between the tRNA-Arg and tRNA-His genes, was 727 bp long. The control region contained multiple hairpins, as well as tandem repeats of the AACGCTT monomer. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete mitochondrial genomes indicated that the genus Dendrobaena occupied the basal position within Lumbricidae. D. tellermanica was a rather distant relative of the cosmopolitan D. octaedra, suggesting high genetic diversity in this genus. D. schmidti turned out to be paraphyletic with respect to D. tellermanica. Since D. schmidti is known to contain very high genetic diversity, these results may indicate that it may be split into several species.

Applicability of ITS1–ITS2 primary structure for species attribution of representatives of the genus Stuckenia was experimentally tested. Analysis of the ITS1–ITS2 region sequences of S. vaginata and S. pectinata from public databases showed that they differed by insertions/deletions and single or double nucleotide substitutions. Besides, the ITS1–ITS2 region of S. pectinata was shown to be represented by two haplotype groups designated as S. pectinata type A and S. pectinata type B with good bootstrap support in phylogenetic reconstructions. In 28 samples identified as S. pectinata, S. vaginata, S. macrocarpa and S. chakassiensis on the basis of morphology, the ITS1–ITS2 region was sequenced in this study. Three groups of samples with good bootstrap support were revealed to be corresponding to S. vaginata, S. pectinata type A and S. pectinata type B. The S. vaginata group was formed by the samples identified on the basis of morphology as S. vaginata, and the S. pectinata type A group was formed by the samples identified on the basis of morphology as S. pectinata. The S. pectinata type B group was further divided into two subgroups, S. pectinata type B subgroup and S. chakassiensis subgroup. The S. chakassiensis subgroup included mainly the samples identified as such on the basis of morphology. The S. pectinata type B subgroup included samples identified on the basis of morphology as S. pectinata, S. vaginata and S. macrocarpa. We suppose that these samples were S. pectinata type B, S. macrocarpa and their hybrids.

The aim was to ascertain the genetic and geographical structure of the Kyrgyz mountain merino (KMM). We analyzed DNA samples of 109 Kyrgyz mountain merino specimens, bred in three state breeding factories (STB), including“Orgochor” in the Issykul Province,“Katta-Taldyk” in the Osh Province and STb named after Luschikhin in the Talas Province. We identified 126 alleles in 12 microsatellite markers (McM042, INRA006, McM527, ETH152, CSRD247, OarFCB20, INRA172, INRA063, MAF065, MAF214, INRA005, INRA023). There were 6 to 16 alleles in each locus (mean 10.500 ± 0.957 alleles per locus). We identified 67 rare alleles (prevalence less than 5.0 %), which made up 53.2 % of all alleles found. The greatest number of rare alleles was found in STR-markers of CSRD247, INRA023, INRA005, INRA006, MAF214 and OarFCB20. For each group, there were individual differences in the distribution of allele frequencies across all the STR loci studied. The most significant of them were as follows: with regard to the McM042 locus, allele 87 was major in the TALAS and OSH groups (35.6 and 45.7 %, respectively), whereas allele 95 was major in the ISSYK-KUL group (36.2 %); allele 154 was major in all groups with regard to the INRA172 locus, but it was 1.25 times less prevalent in the ISSYK-KUL and 1.66 times less prevalent in the OSH groups compared to TALAS (55.2 and 41.4 %, respectively), whereas alleles 156 and 158 were found only in the ISSYK-KUL group. Considering the ETH152 locus, 186 allele prevalence in the TALAS group was 51.1 %, but allele 190 was also markedly prevalent in the ISSYK-KUL and OSH groups, 34.5 and 34.3 %, respectively. The genetic division of the studied groups of KMM (with K from 3 to 10) was homogeneous – the contribution of each subcluster was equivalent. The AMOVA analysis revealed that the groups are located equidistantly. To conclude, the genetic diversity of the Kyrgyz mountain merino in three state breeding factories of the Kyrgyz Republic was high and comparable with each other.

The paper analyzes the genetic profile of the domestic cat population of the Aoshima Island. The population has been established in the middle of the last century, after a small group of animals was imported for rodent control. Based on three photographs, the genotypes of the cats in three overlapping groups (75, 56, and 70 individuals) were determined. The mutant allele frequencies of the sex-linked O (Orange) locus and the three autosomal loci a, W, and l (Agouti, White, and Long hair) responsible for coat color and length were estimated. The population lacks the mutant alleles d (Dilution locus), W and w^g (White), ta^b (Tabby), Ti^A (Ticked) present in other populations of Japan. This is an almost monomorphic population with prevailing red and tortoiseshell individuals. Most cats have interrupted stripes (genotype Ti⁺Ti⁺Ta^M-). The island’s population differs from the other populations of the Japanese islands in the frequencies of two mutant alleles, O and a. The frequency of the O allele (q(O) = 0.580) is one of the highest in the region, while the frequency of the a allele (q(a) = 0.276) is two times lower than in the other populations. In both cases, the differences in frequencies between the neighbouring populations are significant (p < 0.0001). An independent study of the same population revealed a similar genetic structure. However, it detected the presence of the d allele, the frequency of the a allele was higher (0.534 versus 0.276, p < 0.020). The genetic profile, frequencies of mutant alleles in the population, and history of its origin indicate a significant influence of the founder effect on the genetic structure of the island’s domestic cat population.

The incidence of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) constantly increases in the world. Studying the mechanisms underlying ASD as well as searching for new therapeutic targets are crucial tasks. Many researchers agree that autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Clstn2-KO mouse strain with a knockout of calsyntenin 2 gene (Clstn2) is model for investigating ASD. This study aims to evaluate the social-conditioned place preference as well as density of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which belongs to the brain reward system, in the males of the Clstn2-KO strain using wild type C57BL/6J males as controls. Social-conditioned place preference test evaluates a reward-dependent component of social behavior. The results of this test revealed differences between the Clstn2-KO and the control males, as the former did not value socializing with the familiar partner, spending equal time in the isolationand socializing-associated compartments. The Clstn2-KO group entered both compartments more frequently, but spent less time in the socializingassociated compartment compared to the controls. By contrast, the control males of the C57BL/6J strain spent more time in socializing-associated compartment and less time in the compartment that was associated with loneness. At the same time, an increased number of DA and possibly GABA neurons labeled with antibodies against the type 2 dopamine receptor as well as against tyrosine hydroxylase were detected in the VTA of the Clstn2-KO mice. Thus, a change in social-conditioned place preference in Clstn2-KO mice as well as a higher number of neurons expressing type 2 dopamine receptors and tyrosine hydroxylase in the VTA, the key structure of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway, were observed.