[Mutagenicity of drinking water in various districts of Moscow]. / Issledovanie mutagennosti pit'evoi vody iz raznykh g. Moskvy.

The mutagenicity of the drinking water from 16 districts of Moscow was investigated by analyzing of chromosome aberrations induced in cells of Crepis capilaris seeds used as a plant test system. Cytogenetic analysis revealed mutagenic activity in drinking water samples from four administrative regions, namely the Biryulevo-Zapadnoe district of Southern region (2.4%), Obruchevskii district of the Southwestern region (1.61%), Severnoe Tushino district of the Northwestern region (1.45%), and Perovo district of the Western region (1.18%). The frequency of chromosome aberrations found was significantly higher than in the spontaneous control (0.37%). Mutagenic activity was not detected in water samples taken from the Moscow oblast and from four open reservoirs.

[Use of the micronucleus test for assessing the ecological situation in regions of the Astrakhan district]. / Ispol'zovanie mikroiadernogo testa dlia otsenki ékologicheskoi obstanovki v raionakh astrakhanskoi oblasti.

The effect of industrial and agricultural contamination of the environment on the formation of micronuclei in peripheral blood cells of the lake frog Rana ridibunda P. was studied. Simultaneously, the influence of mutagenic contaminants on the human gene pool in Astrakhan' and Astrakhan' oblast' was analyzed. Frogs were trapped in three raions of Astrakhan' oblast': the villages of Trudfront and Verkhnii Buzan and Oblivnoi Island. Peripheral blood smears were prepared and cells with micronuclei and nuclear material were analyzed. Cells with micronuclei were 94.5 times more abundant in frogs from ecologically unfavorable Oblivnoi Island than in animals from Trudfront and 1.2 times more plentiful than in frogs from Verkhnii Buzan.

Phenotypic and genetic affinities among ethnic populations in Daghestan (Caucasus, Russia): a comparison of polymorphic, physical, neurophysiological and psychological traits.

Daghestan contains many distinct populations characterized by different degrees of isolation, ethnic backgrounds and ecological conditions. This report introduces a large-scale family study conducted in seven Daghestan populations as well as in Moscow, using four categories of measures: (1) single gene polymorphisms, (2) anthropometric, (3) physiological, and (4) psychological quantitative traits. Such a study permits the analysis of both phenotypic and genetic variation within and between populations. The implications of such variation are discussed, especially in the context of the measures used. These derive from Soviet conceptualizations of the nervous system and related assessment of individual differences, and vary considerably from conventional Western approaches to behaviour. From the anthropometric through the physiological to the behavioural measures there was a clear trend towards increased phenotypic variation but reduced genetic variation. Possibly because the genetic variance was less on the more complex phenotypes, measures of generalized distance indicated much greater population similarity when based on phenotypic data on the genetic component of variation. Issues that arise when using behavioural traits to study human population diversity are discussed, particularly in relation to inbreeding and the specific cultural and linguistic practices in the Daghestan region.

[A.S. Serebrovskii's experimental studies on induced mutagenesis]. / Eksperimental'nye issledovaniia A.S. Serebrovskogo po indutsirovannomu mutagenezu.

The paper is devoted to A.S. Serebrovskii's studies on induced mutagenesis. His first publication on X-ray induction of mutations in Drosophila appeared in 1928; this became a classical work and entered the golden fund of modern radiation genetics. Investigations of the scientists in the A.S. Serebrovskii's laboratory as will as his own works on the analysis of radiation mutations at the achaete-scute complex have led to the development of the teaching about gene subdivision and made it possible to draw up a linear array of a gene from elementary subgenes, which have laid down the foundations of the modern molecular-genetic theory of gene.

[Rare variants of blood proteins in human populations]. / Redkie varianty belkov krovi v populiatsiiakh cheloveka.

Rare variants of blood proteins occur, due to mutations (mutant alleles) in monomorphic loci encoding various proteins. A number of authors studied the distribution of these variants in human populations using the method of electrophoresis. The population of USA, South America, Japan, Europe was analysed. 1334 rare variants (1.0.10(-3)) were discovered out of 1,329,558 alleles (test locus in 664,779 individuals). 7 mutant alleles (3.6.10(-6)) were found among 1,957,305 alleles. The low frequency of occurrence of mutations in the loci encoding rare blood protein variants, when testing the speed of mutagenicity and its alteration, necessitates electrophoresis of blood proteins to be done in large scales. A method was proposed, based on accounting rare variants in children with congenital disorders, which are supposed to have a heavy load of mutations. The data collected demonstrated that the majority of rare variants in a given generation were obtained from parents. Accumulation of rare protein variants at low concentrations, as neutral alleles, in conditions of low mutation frequency in monomorphic loci takes place in the population. Comparison of frequencies of rare variants among healthy newborns and the children with congenital disorders revealed their identity (1.0.10(-3)), as compared to 1.05.10(-3)). Simplification of the method for scoring mutations judging by rare blood protein variants, which is necessary for monitoring for gene mutations in human populations, stimulates development of novel approaches.

[Heritability of neurodynamics and psychodynamics in human populations]. / Nasleduemost' neirodinamiki i psikhodinamiki v populiatsiiakh cheloveka.

A component analysis of human neurodynamic and psychodynamic characters in the norm was carried out in 8 human populations characterized by different degrees of isolation and ethnic origin. An increase in phenotypic variability and a decrease in heritability with increasing complexity of organization of the characters under study were demonstrated for all these populations. The additive effect plays the major role in genetic determination of neurodynamic and psychodynamic characters studied. For a number of neurodynamic parameters the effect of intralocus dominance indicative of the oligogenic determination system was observed. Data in favour of real contribution of the factors linked to X-chromosome were obtained for simple sensomotor reactions.

[Population genetics of Dagestan highlanders]. / Populiatsionnaia genetika gortsev Dagestana.

Subdivision of some isolates and heterogenic populations in Daghestan is analysed by human gene and phen frequencies. Comparative population study of phenotypic variability of quantitative characters (anthropometric, neurodynamic and psychodynamic) is carried out. Common hierarchy of variability for all populations as well as an effect of inbreeding and panmixis on variability of the above-mentioned quantitative characters in different populations is demonstrated.

[Variability and hereditability of neurodynamic and psychodynamic parameters in human populations]. / Izmenchivost' i nasleduemost' neirodinamicheskikh i psikhodina-micheskikh parametrov v populiatsiiakh cheloveka.

The authors elaborate the population-genetic approach to study the genetic basis of individual psychological differences. Psychodynamic parameters characterized by a more complex organization tend to be more phenotypically variable and less hereditable, as compared with parameters of lower organization levels. The results obtained are interpreted in relation to the genetic and social structure of populations.