First Report and Complete Genome Characterization of Cherry Virus A and Little Cherry Virus 1 from Russia.

Virus diseases affect the yield and fruit quality and shorten the productive life of stone fruits (Prunus spp. in the family Rosaceae). Of over fifty known viruses infecting these crops, cherry virus A (CVA) is among the most common, and little cherry virus 1 (LChV1) is one of the most economically important. Using high-throughput sequencing, full-length genomes of CVA and LChV1 isolates, found on interspecies hybrids in the Prunus collection of the Nikita Botanical Gardens, Russia, were sequenced, assembled, and characterized. CVA was found in the P. cerasifera × P. armeniaca hybrid and in phylogenetic analysis clustered with non-cherry virus isolates. The LChV1 isolate Stepnoe was detected in ((P. cerasifera Ehrh. × P. armeniaca L.) × P. brigantiaca Vill.) trihybrid suggesting that both P. cerasifera and P. brigantiaca potentially can be the LChV1 hosts. The isolate Stepnoe was most closely related to the Greece isolate G15_3 from sweet cherry, sharing 77.3% identity at the nucleotide level. Possibly, the highly divergent Russian isolate represents one more phylogroup of this virus. This is the first report of CVA and LChV1 from Russia, expanding the information on their geographical distribution and genetic diversity.

Genetic Diversity of Common Olive (Olea europaea L.) Cultivars from Nikita Botanical Gardens Collection Revealed Using RAD-Seq Method.

In different countries, interest in the commercial cultivation of the olive has recently greatly increased, which has led to the expansion of its range. The Crimean Peninsula is the northern limit of the common olive (Olea europaea L.) range. A unique collection of common olive's cultivars and hybrids has been collected in the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens (NBG). The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of 151 samples (total of several biological replicates of 46 olive cultivars including 29 introduced and 11 indigenous genotypes) using the ddRAD sequencing method. Structural analysis showed that the studied samples are divided into ten groups, each of which mainly includes cultivars of the same origin. Cultivars introduced to the Crimean Peninsula from different regions formed separate groups, while local cultivars joined different groups depending on their origin. Cultivars of Crimean origin contain admixtures of mainly Italian and Caucasian cultivars' genotypes. Our study showed that the significant number of Crimean cultivars contains an admixture of the Italian cultivar "Coreggiolo". Genetic analysis confirmed the synonymy for the cv. "Otur" and "Nikitskaya 2", but not for the other four putative synonyms. Our results revealed the genetic diversity of the olive collection of NBG and provided references for future research studies, especially in selection studies for breeding programs.

Effect of Methionine on Gene Expression in Komagataella phaffii Cells.

Komagataella phaffii yeast plays a prominent role in modern biotechnology as a recombinant protein producer. For efficient use of this yeast, it is essential to study the effects of different media components on its growth and gene expression. We investigated the effect of methionine on gene expression in K. phaffii cells using RNA-seq analysis. Several gene groups exhibited altered expression when K. phaffii cells were cultured in a medium with methanol and methionine, compared to a medium without this amino acid. Methionine primarily affects the expression of genes involved in its biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and methanol utilization. The AOX1 gene promoter, which is widely used for heterologous expression in K. phaffii, is downregulated in methionine-containing media. Despite great progress in the development of K. phaffii strain engineering techniques, a sensitive adjustment of cultivation conditions is required to achieve a high yield of the target product. The revealed effect of methionine on K. phaffii gene expression is important for optimizing media recipes and cultivation strategies aimed at maximizing the efficiency of recombinant product synthesis.

A de novo genome assembly of cultivated Prunus persica cv. 'Sovetskiy'.

Prunus persica is one of the main stone fruit crops in Crimea and southern Russia. The P. persica genome has recently been sequenced and annotated in good quality. However, for a deeper assessment of the peach genome, it is necessary to include in the research other cultivars that are in the collection of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. The cultivars of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden are unique and differ from Western European and American ones, as they are derived from cultivars and forms originating from Central Asian, North Caucasian, Transcaucasian and Eastern European countries. In this paper, we present the assembly of the P. persica cv. 'Sovetskiy' genome obtained using Oxford Nanopore long reads and Illumina short reads by hybrid assembly methods. The assembled genome of P. persica cv. 'Sovetskiy' is 206.26 MB in 226 scaffolds, with N50 24 Mb, including 8 chromosomes. It contains 27140 coding genes, 26973 (99.38%) of which are annotated in at least one functional database. More than 36.05% of the genome regions were identified as repeating elements.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis Strain Krd-20 with Antifungal Activity, a Biotechnologically Important Isolate from Wheat Root Zone.

Bacillus velezensis Krd-20 strain with antifungal activity was isolated from the wheat rhizosphere. This strain is used to suppress fungi of the Fusarium sp. when growing oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). Genome assembling resulted in 44 contigs with a total length of 3939663 bp were obtained, the GC content is 46.4%.

SNP-Based Analysis Reveals Authenticity and Genetic Similarity of Russian Indigenous V. vinifera Grape Cultivars.

9 Russian Vitis vinifera grape varieties and the European variety Muscat Hamburg were sequenced and genotyped using 527 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) with high minor allele frequency for the first time. The data were coupled with previously identified genotypes of 783 varieties and subjected to parentage and population analysis. As a result, contrary to the historical and ampelographic data published in many sources from 1800 to 2012, only two of the nine Russian varieties (Pukhlyakovskiy Belyi and Sibirkovyi) were related to foreign ones and were obviously imported from Europe to the Russian Empire. The remaining seven varieties, led by Krasnostop Zolotovskiy, are not directly related either in the Caucasus or in Europe, they form separate clusters on the genetic distance-based dendrogram and the world parentage network of V. vinifera. The resulting pedigree of Muscat Hamburg and its descendants is in accordance with SSR-based (simple sequence repeats) studies and the described pedigree of this variety which confirms the use of the reduced SNP set for further studies.

The Prevalence of glucose dysregulations (GDs) in patients with ß-thalassemias in different countries: A preliminary ICET-A survey.

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Natural Products as a Source of Antiarrhythmic Drugs.

Throughout the development of medicine, the spotlight has been held by the search for new drugs blocking different types of arrhythmia. In the past decade, much attention was given to the selection of active antiarrhythmic substances from plant material. It has been shown that these compounds have a good antiarrhythmic effect, and their chemical modifications substantially increase their major effects while adding other beneficial pharmacological properties. In this regard, work on the chemical modification of plant-source antiarrhythmics is highly relevant to the development of new and promising drugs.

Sequencing of Supernumerary Chromosomes of Red Fox and Raccoon Dog Confirms a Non-Random Gene Acquisition by B Chromosomes.

B chromosomes (Bs) represent a variable addition to the main karyotype in some lineages of animals and plants. Bs accumulate through non-Mendelian inheritance and become widespread in populations. Despite the presence of multiple genes, most Bs lack specific phenotypic effects, although their influence on host genome epigenetic status and gene expression are recorded. Previously, using sequencing of isolated Bs of ruminants and rodents, we demonstrated that Bs originate as segmental duplications of specific genomic regions, and subsequently experience pseudogenization and repeat accumulation. Here, we used a similar approach to characterize Bs of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes L.) and the Chinese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides procyonoides Gray). We confirm the previous findings of the KIT gene on Bs of both species, but demostrate an independent origin of Bs in these species, with two reused regions. Comparison of gene ensembles in Bs of canids, ruminants, and rodents once again indicates enrichment with cell-cycle genes, development-related genes, and genes functioning in the neuron synapse. The presence of B-chromosomal copies of genes involved in cell-cycle regulation and tissue differentiation may indicate importance of these genes for B chromosome establishment.