The first complete mitogenomes and phylogeny of Georgian Mountain Cattle.

The Georgian Mountain Cattle (GMC) (Species: Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 - aurochs, domesticated cattle, domestic cattle (feral), Aurochs, Subspecies: Bos taurus taurus Linnaeus, 1758) is a local breed from Georgia. It is well adapted to the harsh mountain conditions of the Caucasus, resistant to different pathogens and able to provide milk during the lowest feed rations. In this study, we report for the first time the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of GMC. We selected the five unique control region mitochondrial haplotypes of GMC and sequenced for the complete mitogenome, using Illumina MiSeq platform. The results of our research showed a total of 59 substitutions and seven indels, in comparison to the Bovine Reference Sequence (BRS; V00654), with 15 SNPs never observed before. The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogenetic analyses revealed hitherto unknown haplotypes falling outside the known taurine diversity. Four mitogenomes fell within haplogroup T (sub-lineages T1, T3, and T5), while one belonged to haplogroup Q (branch Q1). The combination of our results with precision agriculture holds great promises for the identification of genetic variants economically affecting important traits of GMC cattle.

Whole genome comparative analysis of four Georgian grape cultivars.

Grapevine is the one of the most important fruit species in the world. Comparative genome sequencing of grape cultivars is very important for the interpretation of the grape genome and understanding its evolution. The genomes of four Georgian grape cultivars-Chkhaveri, Saperavi, Meskhetian green, and Rkatsiteli, belonging to different haplogroups, were resequenced. The shotgun genomic libraries of grape cultivars were sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq. Pinot Noir nuclear, mitochondrial, and chloroplast DNA were used as reference. Mitochondrial DNA of Chkhaveri closely matches that of the reference Pinot noir mitochondrial DNA, with the exception of 16 SNPs found in the Chkhaveri mitochondrial DNA. The number of SNPs in mitochondrial DNA from Saperavi, Meskhetian green, and Rkatsiteli was 764, 702, and 822, respectively. Nuclear DNA differs from the reference by 1,800,675 nt in Chkhaveri, 1,063,063 nt in Meskhetian green, 2,174,995 in Saperavi, and 5,011,513 in Rkatsiteli. Unlike mtDNA Pinot noir, chromosomal DNA is closer to the Meskhetian green than to other cultivars. Substantial differences in the number of SNPs in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of Chkhaveri and Pinot noir cultivars are explained by backcrossing or introgression of their wild predecessors before or during the process of domestication. Annotation of chromosomal DNA of Georgian grape cultivars by MEGANTE, a web-based annotation system, shows 66,745 predicted genes (Chkhaveri-17,409; Saperavi-17,021; Meskhetian green-18,355; and Rkatsiteli-13,960). Among them, 106 predicted genes and 43 pseudogenes of terpene synthase genes were found in chromosomes 12, 18 random (18R), and 19. Four novel TPS genes not present in reference Pinot noir DNA were detected. Two of them-germacrene A synthase (Chromosome 18R) and (-) germacrene D synthase (Chromosome 19) can be identified as putatively full-length proteins. This work performs the first attempt of the comparative whole genome analysis of different haplogroups of Vitis vinifera cultivars. Based on complete nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis, hypothetical phylogeny scheme of formation of grape cultivars is presented.

[Structuro-functional organization of segments of Co1A plasmid DNA, determining its stable inheritance]. / Strukturno-funktsional'naia organizatsiia uchastkov DNK plazmidy Co1A, opredeliaiushchikh ee stabil'noe nasledovanie.

Two par regions were localized within the structure of a small colicinogenic plasmid ColA. One of them functions at the expense of plasmid multimere resolution. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the region revealed the existence of essential homology with the par locus of plasmid ColE1. As compared to E. coli C600, the function of multimere forms' resolution of plasmid DNA in E. coli C is reduced or absent due to par regions of the ColE1 type. Par regions of various degrees of homology with the par locus of ColE1 were localized by Southern hybridization within the structure of colicinogenic plasmids ColN and ColD. The stabilization of the colicinogenic plasmids is believed to be also determined by the functioning of genes connected with the synthesis and action of colicin.

[Structural-functional analysis of the par-region of ColE1 plasmid]. / Strukturno-funktsional'nyi analiz par-uchastka plazmidy ColE1.

The DNA fragment identical to the right shoulder of the inverted repeat from the par-region of ColE1 plasmid has been synthesized chemically. It is shown to participate in the plasmid multimers resolution and to define the stable inheritance of the plasmid pKS1 containing the fragment in Escherichia coli C600 cells as well as in the multirecombinogenic strain Escherichia coli JC8679. The efficiency of the fragments functioning in Escherichia coli JC8679 is not enough for resolution of all forms of oligomeric pKS1 DNA. The site for recombinase action is found to be located in the synthesized oligonucleotide. However, some extra sequences of DNA located within the region of inverted repeat are necessary for maximally efficient functioning of the recombinase, the enzyme participating in plasmid multimers resolution.