Ecological genetics

BACKGROUND: Rice coleoptiles were used to investigate the importance of V H⁺-ATPase in vacuolization during elongation growth under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

AIM of the study was to find out a link between growth intensity, protein amount of subunits B and E and transcription of genes encoding those proteins.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The investigation was carried out on two rice varieties of domestic selection, fast-growing Kuban 3 and slow-growing Amethyst. Seedlings were grown in etiolated conditions at normoxia and submergence. Western-blot analysis was employed to evaluate amount of subunits B and E in microsomal fraction. qRT-PCR was used to distinguish differences in expression of genes encoding subunits B and E of V H⁺-ATPase.

RESULTS: The growth under aerobic conditions was more consistent with the changes in subunits B and E of V H⁺-ATPase which was determined at the proteomic level, while the hypoxic growth had a stronger correspondence with changes in OsVHAs gene expression. Varietal differences were revealed only when comparing the transcription intensity, which did not affect the growth dynamics of coleoptiles. Obtained data suggested the existence of differences in the regulation of the enzyme at the transcriptional and proteomic levels during coleoptile elongation.

CONCLUSIONS: The importance of the B and E subunits of V-ATPase involvement in vacuolization during the growth process of rice coleoptiles under different oxygen level was demonstrated.

The dynamics of the composition of the Adalia bipunctata L. population in Arkhangelsk for 21 years has been studied. The proportion of black individuals decreased by almost 2 times; the average annual temperature at the same time increased from 1.92° to 2.95°. A comparison of the population composition with the average annual temperature showed that the proportion of black individuals in the population is negatively correlated with the average annual temperature. The observed change in population composition is probably the effect of global warming.

Due to oncoming climate changes, droughts, high salinity, extreme temperatures became quite common stressors universally occurring in the most of terrestrial habitats. Expansions of these changes are often accompanied with strong herbivore attacks. Due to the outstanding impact of these factors on sustainable agriculture, since several last decades, the biochemistry and molecular biology of plant stress response remains in the focus of the research interest worldwide. Thus, bottom-up proteomics became a versatile tool of plant research in general and of stress biology in particular. As plant-derived materials are recognized as an extremely complex matrix, which is rich in polysaccharides, polyphenols and hardly water-soluble proteins, their proteome is typically analyzed by gel-based techniques. However, recent advances in sample preparation techniques (first of all — protein solubilization and digestion) allowed establishment of gel-free methods for plant-derived samples. Implementation of high-throughput nano-flow reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography coupled on-line to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nanoRP-HPLC-ESI-MS) gave access to data-rich datasets giving high protein identification rates. Moreover, high reproducibility of HPLC allows highly sensitive and precise quantification. Therefore, over the recent decade, shotgun proteomics became the method of choice in the study of adaptive stress responses of plant proteome. Here we address the bottom-up shotgun proteomics strategy in plant biology and discuss its application to the study of plant stress response. We also discuss the main steps of the plant proteome analysis pipeline and address emerging problems and future perspectives.

The review article discusses advances in genome editing of pea (Pisum sativum L.) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Despite more than a decade of CRISPR/Cas9 application in plant biotechnology, the first successful genome editing in pea was achieved only in 2023, when researchers induced mutations in the model gene PsPDS, whose disruption leads to plant albinism. To date, CRISPR/Cas9 has also been used to introduce mutations in the PsLOX2 gene, encoding lipoxygenase, resulting in a reduced concentration of volatile compounds responsible for the undesirable odor of seeds, and in the PsBAS1 gene, leading to blocked saponin biosynthesis and improved seeds’ palatability. Researchers emphasize the need to further optimize transformation protocols to enhance their efficiency and address the low regenerative capacity of pea. The review also briefly outlines the history of CRISPR-Cas9 discovery and its development as a key genome editing tool. In addition, it examines CRISPR/Cas9 modifications that improve editing precision and their potential applications in pea genome engineering. A key aspect of the article is the discussion of CRISPR/Cas9 as a tool for modulating the specificity and efficiency of pea symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which may contribute to the development of resilient and productive agroecosystems.

Genetic analysis, as a fundamental method of genetics, is possible under the obligatory condition of presence of hereditarily different variants of the same features. Success of the analysis depends on the breadth of diversity of hereditary forms available to the researcher. In this regard, creation and maintenance of genetic collections is the first stage of genetic analysis. At present, genetic collections, including Drosophila, have not lost their primary importance even despite the obvious superiority of molecular methods in genetics and shift of research to the level of features characterizing the peculiarities of individual molecules. In many ways, it is the collection material that serves as a starting point in the development of new research directions in modern genetics. In addition, it should be noted that the task of the educational process at the university is to develop the student’s ability to analyze, critically evaluate the results of the experiment, and understand the logic of the experiment. In this regard, the use of genetic collections is an integral part of the educational process, allowing to stimulate the development of the required qualities.

The book of abstracts of the Fourth International Conference “Genetically modified organisms: The History, Achievements, Social and Environmental Risks” contains 38 abstracts covering a broad field of GMO research. Nowadays genetically modified organisms, their construction and study, are an essential part of many investigations as well as a part of modern agriculture. The results presented in the book are from different fields of research and performed on a broad range of organisms (plants, animals, fungi and algae).