Vol 50, No 1 (2016)

The effect of trifluoperazine, the inhibitor of serine/threonine protein kinases, and genistein, the inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinases, on the frequency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of angiosperms has been studied on the example of tobacco as a model plant. The study of the effects produced by trifluoperazine in a wide range of concentrations from 10 to 300 μM has allowed us to establish that the use of trifluoperazine at the concentration of 10 μM increases the frequency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco leaf discs by 25%. The effect of genistein also in a wide range of concentrations from 10 to 100 μM was studied in parallel and its most efficient concentration (100 μM) has been found for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco leaf discs, at which the frequency of transformation increased by 12%.

Investigation of the pleiotropic effects of GA-sensitive (Rht8) and GA-insensitive (Rht-B1 and Rht-D1) winter bread wheat dwarfing genes and the gene that determines the response of plants to photoperiod—Ppd-D1—were carried out for 3 years in the southern step region of the Black Sea bank on five different genetic backgrounds. It is shown that, in addition to direct effects on plant height, GA-sensitive and GA-insensitive dwarfing genes have pleiotropic effects on all studied traits except the number of fertile spikelets. Presence of the dwarfing genes in the genotype of tall forms led to the decrease of stem and ear length, and, at the same time, to the increase of ear density. The number of spikelets per spike decreased due to sterile spikelets, whereas the number of fertile spikelets did not change. There was a significant increase in the number of grains per ear as a result of increasing of spikelets in ears. The number and weight of grains did not decrease, even though the plants were characterized by a smaller number of productive tillers. The presence of Rht8x allele on genetic background of variety Stepnyak resulted in a significant decrease of plants productivity. However, in combination with Ppd-D1a allele, plants with Rht8x increased the potential productivity and surpassed the parental form (Rht8x Ppd-D1a). The presence of Rht-Ble allele resulted in reduction of weight of kernels from the main ear and 1000-kernels weight, increase of l/h, and left the number of seeds per spikelet stable in comparison with Rht8x.

Immunohistochemical and biochemical study of infiltrative ductal breast carcinoma and tissue adjacent to the tumour revealed a particular molecular profile and characteristics of the oxidant-antioxidant status neoplasms depending on the age of the patients and the presence of metastases in regional lymph nodes. Some causes of high aggressiveness and low hormone sensitivity of tumours in premenopausal women, as well as stability and high metastatic potential of tumours in postmenopausal women have been found.

Literature data and results of the studies carried out us concerning the involvement of plant cell cytoskeleton in cellular mechanisms of metal toxicity are summarized. Characteristics of cytotoxic effect of metals on plant cytoskeleton and, in particular, on microtubules and actin filaments are reviewed. Particular attention is paid to cellular and molecular mechanisms of metal impact on cytoskeleton. The most probable binding sites of heavy metals, as well as alternative mechanisms of their impact on cytoskeleton, are discussed.

The article shortly describes the life path of Erwin Chargaff, one of the most famous figures in the history of molecular biology and genetics. Chargaff was born in Chernivtsi (Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine) but during the First World War his family was forced to move to Vienna. After graduating from the University of Vienna, Chargaff worked in Berlin, where he studied bacterial lipids. Due to Nazis coming to power in Germany, Chargaff moved to Paris and later (1935) emigrated to the USA and obtained a position at the Columbia University, where he initially invastigated the role of phospholipids in blood clotting. In year 1944, applying novel methods Chargaff initiated intensive investigation of the chemical composition of nucleic acids from taxonomically distant species and established two rules, which were later named after him. The first Chargaff's rule provided a significant support to Watson and Crick in construction of their double helical DNA model. The explosion of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Chargaff to think about the moral responsibility of researchers and science to mankind. He began to raise these issues in the press and manifested himself as a talented journalist, who criticized the bureaucratization of science and its transformation into a way of earning money. Despite decades of life in America, spiritually Erwin Chargaff always remained a European, who never forgot his roots and always remembered his native land.