The intergenic spacer (IGS) of 5S ribosomal RNA genes (5S rDNA) (that are present in the genome of all living organisms) is characterized by a high variability, due to which it is a convenient and ...widely used object for clarifying the issues of genome evolution, population genetics, systematics, etc. The aim of this work was to study the IGS of 5S rDNA of the Antarctic pearlwort
Colobanthus quitensis
. The nucleotide sequence was determined by the methods of molecular genetic analysis, and molecular organization of the
C. quitensis
5S rDNA IGS was studied. It was demonstrated that it contains the regulatory elements typical for other vascular plants. The existence of at least two classes of 5S rDNA repeats in the individual genome (that differ significantly in the length and nucleotide sequence of IGS) was established. In addition, based on differences in the length and nucleotide sequence, two subclasses of repeats with a long IGS and three subclasses with a short IGS were identified. A comparison of 5S rDNA IGS sequences in
C. quitensis
and
Silene latifolia
Poir. (a member of another section of the Caryophyllaceae family) demonstrated significant differences in the structure of a spacer region of 5S rRNA genes (except for its parts containing regulatory elements). In general, data obtained indicate a significant level of intragenomic polymorphism of
C. quitensis
5S rDNA IGS.
The organization of promoters of DREB2B TF ortholog genes involved in the response to abiotic stresses was studied in
D. antarctica
E. Desv. extremophile plant and 12 more grass species with ...different cold and drought resistance. The evolutionary distances between the sequences of promoters were 0.621 on average, those between coding sequences (including introns) were 0.442, and the values of nucleotide diversity (π) for these regions were 0.410 and 0.274, respectively. Clustering of sequences corresponded in general to the accepted systematic division of the Poaceae family into subfamilies. Fifty-four
cis
-elements involved in the response to abiotic and biotic stresses, light, hormones (particularly, abscisic acid, auxin, methyl jasmonate, ethylene, gibberellin, and salicylic acid), and tissue-specific
cis
-elements were identified. Most of the
cis
-elements were associated with the response to abiotic stress that is consistent with data on DREB2B TF functions. Except for single peculiarities, representatives of different grass subfamilies and
D. antarctica
were similar in the total set of
cis
-elements in the
DREB2B
promoter that indicates the similarity of the regulation of expression of this gene and its potential functions in the response to stress in the studied species.
This study discussed the importance of the phylogenetic components in the structure of bird communities of anthropogenically transformed ecosystems. The investigation was conducted in the landscapes ...of the south and south-east of Ukraine in the nesting seasons 1988–2018. The bird community in the agricultural landscape was found to be presented by 10 species. The number of species was closely correlated with its phylogenetic analogue – Faith’s index. Both indices were stationary over time, as they do not show a statistically significant time trend. The two axes were extracted as a result of the DPCOA procedure and the permutation test showed their statistical significance. The axis 1 was the most sensitive to the opposite dynamics of the abundance of Coturnix coturnix and Burhinus oedicnemus on the one hand and Alauda arvensis and Melanocorypha calandra on the other. The axis 2 is the most sensitive to the opposite dynamics of Corvus monedula and Melanocorypha calandra on the one hand and Coturnix coturnix and Motacilla flava on the other. Based on phylogenetic diversity, the years can be clustered with the extraction of four relatively homogeneous phylogenetic structures of bird communities. The indicator of the initial period of dynamics (1988–1992) was Burhinus oedicnemus. Sowing or mechanical weeding may be considered as a major factor of nest destruction of Burhinus oedicnemus. The decreasing of the abundance of the trophic recourses because of agricultural activity may have caused the monotonous negative trend over time of the Burhinus oedicnemus populations. The period 1993–2003 was a transitional one, for which there were no clear indicators, as a characteristic feature of this period was the processes of bird community restructuring. The period 2004–2013 was characterized by the loss of Burhinus oedicnemusfrom the community and a sharp increase in the abundance of Corvus monedula. These species are distinguished by their phylogenetic specificity and are located on the periphery relative to the phylogenetic core of the community. There was growing importance in the community of such species as Alauda arvensis, Anthus campestris, and Melanocorypha calandra between 2014 and 2018. Our results also confirm the assumption that phylogenetic overdispersion is an important requirement for the stability of the bird community in anthropogenically transformed landscapes.
The wavy hair-grass,
Avenella flexuosa
(L.) Drejer (also known as
Deschampsia flexuosa
(L.) Trin. or
Lerchenfeldia flexuosa
(L.) Schur), is a species of perennial herbaceous plant of the Poaceae ...family that is widespread in Eurasia, Africa, North and South America. Whether this species belongs to the
Deschampsia
genus has long been an open question. Taking into account that the 5S rDNA comparison is a convenient tool in the molecular taxonomy of plants, we cloned and sequenced this region of the
A. flexuosa
genome and evaluated the genetic distances between this species and other species of the Poeae tribe. It has been found that at least two structural classes of 5S rDNA repeats are present in the
A. flexuosa
genome. The spacer regions in the 5S rDNA of
A. flexuosa
and
D. antarctica
have a low level of similarity that does not exceed the level of similarity with representatives of several other genera of the Poeae tribe. The 5S rDNA clones of
A. flexuosa
and
D. antarctica
form two distinct clades on the phyllodendogram. Taking together, our results support the idea that
A. flexuosa
belongs to a separate genus
Avenella
.
The research was carried out at the Research Centre of the Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University in Pokrov city. Sampling was carried out in 2013–2015 on a variant of artificial soil ...(technosols) formed on loess-like loam, red-brown clay, green-grey clay, technological mixture of rocks, and also formed on loess-like loam with a humus-rich 70 cm top soil layer. To investigate the spatiotemporal variation in the abundance, species richness and species composition of invertebrate assemblages within the experimental polygon, the animals were sampled using pitfall traps. In total, 60 pitfall traps were operated simultaneously during each sampling period. Each year the pitfalls were emptied 26 times every 7–9 days. Invertebrates (Arthropoda and Mollusca) of 6 classes, 13 orders, 50 families and 202 species or parataxonomic units were recorded. Diplopoda was most abundant taxonomic group, though it was represented by only one species Rossiulus kessleri (Lohmander, 1927). Coleoptera and Araneae were the most numerous taxonomic groups. Readily available water for plants, precipitation, wind speed, atmospheric temperature (daily minimum, daily maximum, daily mean), atmospheric humidity and atmospheric pressure were used as environmental predictors. Two dimension geographic coordinates of the sampling locations were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based spatial variables. Time series of sampling dates were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based temporal variables. The moisture content in the technosols was revealed to be the most important factor determining the temporal dynamics of the terrestrial invertebrate community in conditions of semi-arid climate and the ecosystem which formed as a result of the reclamation process. Following soil moisture, the factor most strongly affecting invertebrates in the technosols was temperature. From the total set of the invertebrates, two relatively homogeneous species groups in terms of thermal preferences were extracted: the microtemperature and mesotemperature groups. The microtemperature species are more tolerant to the thermal factor, and the mesotemperature species are more sensitive. The Huisman-OlffFresco approach expanded by Jansen-Oksanen provides a wide set of ecologically relevant models which are able to explain species response. The species response to temperature is affected by a complex of other environmental, temporal and spatial factors. The effect of other factors on the species response must be previously extracted to find real estimations of the species temperature optima and tolerance. The approaches to solving this problem may be the object of future investigation.
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common human diseases, hence, the production of cardiological (in particular, anti-arrhythmic) medications from the natural sources is an ever-actual task. ...Rauwolfia serpentina Benth. is a tropical fruticose plant that is able to produce and concentrate indole alkaloids, especially ajmaline and its derivatives, which are the most effective medications against ventricular arrhythmia with low side effects.
Aim of the study. Determination of the qualitative and quantitative content of indole alkaloids in cell biomass of Rauwolfia serpentina tissue culture, obtained by the prolonged in vitro growth.
Materials and methods. Object: cell biomass of Rauwolfia serpentina tissue culture (K-27 strain), obtained by methods of long-term cell selection in vitro. Alkaloids content determination: TSQ Vantage LC-MS (ThermoFischer Scientific).
Results. 20 indole alkaloids are found in cell biomass of Rauwolfia serpentina tissue culture (K-27 strain). The highest content is registered for ajmaline and its derivatives (0.690 % mass. for ajmaline). The contents of reserpine and yohimbine were found to be as low as 0.009 % and 0.020 %, respectively.
Conclusions. It is established that the content of indole alkaloids is higher in K-27 strain in comparison to natural plant and is stable over more than 30 years of its growth. Total alkaloids content was found to be 2.8 % of dry cell biomass, and total ajmaline-type alkaloids content (including ajmaline) was found to be 1.6 % of dry cell biomass. In contrast, the total alkaloid contents in the natural plant material is reported to be in the range of 0.8–1.3 %.
This review outlines the major features and distinctions of cell populations, types and directions of selection in such populations. Population-genetic basis for cell adaptation to growth conditions
PDF
