Том 52, № 2 (2016)

Emotional stress plays a significant role in the processes of the development of arterial hypertension, especially in the presence of genetic predisposition. The origin and maintenance of hypertensive status during stress development can be activated by the sympathetic nervous system. An increase in sympathetic stimulation can, in turn, result in a change in the functions of kidneys, which provide fluid and electrolyte balance of the organism. A comparative study of the mRNA expression level of catechol-o-methyltransferase (Comt), mineralocorticoid receptor (Mlr), and β-subunit of epithelial sodium channel (β-ENaC) genes was conducted on the kidneys of hypertensive ISIAH rats and normotensive WAG rats at rest and after the effect of emotional stress. The discovered changes in the expression level of the selected genes confirm their involvement in increased sympathetic stimulation of the kidney, along with changes in the function of kidney regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance, which is an important factor of the development of sustained hypertension in the ISIAH rats strain.

For the first time, genetic analysis of the cytochrome b gene fragment haplotypes encoding the identical and the most common cytochrome b polypeptide (F1) in M. rutilus from eastern and Beringian maternal lineages was carried out. The F1 frequencies for the vole populations from Northern Priokhotye and the Kolyma basin were calculated. Considerable polymorphism of the cytochrome b F1 haplotypes within two major phylogroups of red-backed vole was supported by high molecular diversity indices for these clades. The proportion of genetic variation between the maternal lineages of F1 red-backed vole individuals (60.71%) was considerably higher than inter(24.44%) and intrapopulation (14.85%) components. The data obtained make it possible to advance a hypothesis on the convergence of the cytochrome b polypeptide structure upon sequence divergence of the corresponding gene.

Over the past half-century, the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus), along with range-wide decline of natural populations, has actively populated the cities. The study of the genetic structure of urban populations of common hamster may shed light on features of the habitation of this species in urban landscapes. This article is focused on the genetic structure of common hamster populations in Simferopol (Crimea), one of the largest known urban populations of this species. On the basis of the analysis of nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene and mtDNA control region, and the allelic composition of ten microsatellite loci of nDNA, we revealed that, despite the fact that some individuals can move throughout the city at considerable distances, the entire population of the city is represented by separate demes confined to different areas. These demes are characterized by a high degree of the genetic isolation and reduced genetic diversity compared to that found for the city as a whole.

A comparative estimation was conducted to assess the prevalence of genotypes and alleles of the R>Q(353) polymorphism of the coagulation factor FVII gene between a group of the Russian adolescents with essential arterial hypertension and a group of Russian adolescents without such health problems. The RR genotype was diagnosed in 55 adolescents (75.34%) of the control group and in 99 adolescents (84.61%) of the adolescents suffering from essential arterial hypertension (χ² = 1.949, p = 0.163). The R allele frequency was, respectively, 85.62 and 91.88% (χ² = 3.110, p = 0.078). The role of the FVII gene in the determination of the F7 plasma activity was defined in adolescents with essential arterial hypertension and holders of different alleles. Holders of the R allele had significantly higher activity of coagulation factor F7 (97.66 ± 15.48 against 83.37 ± 15.16, p = 0.002), factor F2 (107.45 ± 6.03 against 103.75 ± 6.81, p = 0.023), and antithrombin III (104.47 ± 15.54% against 95.87 ± 11.30%, p = 0.024). than holders of the Q allele. This relationship was not found in adolescents of the control group.

In previously conducted some studies it has been revealed that nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) system play a significant role in carcinogenesis. Nitric oxide (NO) is regulated by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) enzyme which is one of the isoenzymes of NO synthase (NOS). In this study we have tried to come to a conclusion about whether eNOS gene T-786C, G894T and intron 4 VNTR (4a/b) polymorphisms might be considered as a risk factor causing prostate cancer (PCa) or not. A total of 200 subjects were included in this research. 84 patients with PCa (mean age 70.0 ± 6.4) and 116 healthy controls (mean age 69.9 ± 7.5) were recruited in this case-control study. Genomic DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit (QIAGEN GmbH, Maryland, USA), according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. The T-786C, G894T and intron 4 VNTR (4a/b) polymorphisms were amplified using polymerase chain reation (PCR), detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). For T-786C polymorphism CC genotype [odds ratio (OR): 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15–0.78, P = 0.009)] and allele frequency (OR: 0.631, CI: 0.421–0.946, P = 0.026) is significant for control. In patients with PCa eNOS G894T polymorphism, both GT (OR: 0.069, CI: 0.027–0.174; P = 0.0001) and TT (OR: 0.040, CI: 0.013–0.123; P = 0.0001) genotype distribution, and also T allele frequency (OR: 0.237, CI: 0.155–0.362, P = 0.0001) were considered significant statistically. While genotype distribution for the other polymorphism eNOS, intron 4 VNTR (4a/b), is insignificant statistically, “a” allele frequency was found out to be significant (OR: 2.223, CI: 1.311–3.769, P = 0.003). In this study we indicated that genotype and allele frequencies of eNOS T-786C and G894T polymorphisms are statistically significant in patients with PCa. eNOS T-786C and G894T polymorphisms may be associated with PCa susceptibility in the Turkish population. In contrast, intron 4 VNTR (4a/b) polymorphism may not be related to PCa susceptibility in these patients.

Symbiogenic evolution, which involves transformations of bacteria into the cellular organelles, is represented as a model for reconstructing the early stages of genome evolution, including the origin of DNA genomes from RNA genomes and the emergence of template processes on the basis of self-replicating molecular complexes in the ancestral metabolic systems. The antiquity of RNA genomes is supported by an increased evolutionary stability of ribosomal protein synthesis (translation) with respect to the DNA-dependent template processes (replication, transcription, recombination, and reparation). This stability is demonstrated by analysis of the deeply reduced genomes of symbiotic bacteria and cellular organelles as well as the “minimal” genomes which are common to phylogenetically diverse organisms. Higher evolutionary conservation of template biosynthetic processes with respect to step processes determining the metabolism and development in cells does not support the hypothesis about emergence of genomes within the ancestral cellular metabolic systems which are thought to be of abiogenic origin, instead suggesting dualistic origin of life on Earth. We suppose that the genome-free organelles of some eukaryotes (mitosomes, many hydrogenosomes, and some plastids) represent the products of reversion of symbiotic bacteria into ancestral forms which implemented their basic cellular functions using the informational macromolecules of exogenic origin. In the framework of this hypothesis the eukaryotic cells functioning based on the massive transfer of gene products (RNAs, proteins) from cytosol to organelles may represent the analogs of ancestral biocenoses that possessed integral hereditary systems (metagenomes).

The participation of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in the stimulation of the RNA polymerase II binding to gene promotors was demonstrated in all model eukaryotic organisms. It was shown eight years ago that the SWI/SNF complex influence on transcription is not limited to its role in initiation but also includes participation in elongation and alternative splicing. In the current work, we describe the subunit composition of the SWI/SNF complexes participating in initiation, preparing for the elongation and elongation of hsp70 gene transcription in Drosophila melanogaster. The data reveal the high mobility of the SWI/SNF complex composition during the hsp70 gene transcription process. We suggest a model describing the process of sequential SWI/SNF complex formation during heat-shock induced transcription of the hsp70 gene.

With the use of allele-specific primers developed for the VRN1 loci, the allelic diversity of the VRN-A1, VRN-B1, and VRN-D1 genes was studied in 148 spring common wheat cultivars cultivated under the conditions of western Siberia. It was demonstrated that modern Western Siberian cultivars have the VRN-A1a allele, which is widely distributed in the world (alone or in combination with the VRN-B1a and VRN-B1c alleles). It was established that the main contribution in acceleration of the seedling–heading time is determined by a dominant VRN-A1a allele, while the VRNA1b allele, on the contrary, determines later plant heading. Cultivars that have the VRN-A1b allele in the genotype are found with a frequency of 8%. It was shown that cultivars with different allele combinations of two dominant genes (VRN-A1a + VRN-B1c and VRN-A1a + VRN-B1a) are characterized by earlier heading and maturing.

The article presents the genetic parameters of the populations of lizards of the Darevskia raddei complex (D. raddei nairensis and D. raddei raddei) and the populations of D. valentini calculated on the basis of the analysis of variability of 50 allelic variants of the three nuclear genome microsatellite-containing loci of 83 individuals. It was demonstrated that the F_st genetic distances between the populations of D. raddei nairensis and D. raddei raddei were not statistically significantly different from the F_st genetic distances between the populations of different species, D. raddei and D. valentini. At the same time, these distances were statistically significantly higher than the F_st distances between the populations belonging to one species within the genus Darevskia. These data suggest deep divergence between the populations of D. raddei raddei and D. raddei nairensis of the D. raddei complex and there arises the question on considering them as separate species.