Electrophoretic separation under native conditions may be used for purification of protein molecules and their complexes with DNA and other ligands. Here, we employed this approach to separate protein-DNA complexes with a molecular weight of about 200 kDa: mono- and dinucleosomes. The purified mononucleosomes were subjected to single particle electron microscopy study using negative stain contrasting, and the two-dimensional projections of the nucleosomes were obtained. A comparison of the nucleo some projections before and after separation in the native PAGE revealed different orientation of particles on the carbon film.

Original data on the survival of fungal spores exposed to space conditions are presented. The experiment was carried out on the Earth-orbiting Russian satellite Foton-M4. The flight duration of the satellite was 45 days. Thirteen fungal species (hyaline as well as pigmented) from 10 genera recovered from destructed stone materials were studied. Sterile quartz sand was inoculated by the fungal spores and was placed into Eppendorf tubes. During the space flight, the Eppendorf tubes with fungal spores were kept inside the Foton descent capsule in the “Biokont” containers and on the external surface of the capsule in the “Exobiofrost” containers exposed to the open space as well. Spores of ten species (77% of all tested species), i.e. Acremonium charticola, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus versicolor, Chaetomium globosum, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium verrucosum, Purpureocillium lilacinum, Sarocladium kiliense, and Trichoderma harzianum, survived after the flight both inside and outside the descent capsule. Only three species (23% of all tested species), i.e. Acremonium furcatum, Engyodontium album and Verticillium zaregamsianum, failed to survive outside as well as inside the capsule. Spore viability differed depending on the fungal species. Thus, spores of some fungal species are able to survive under the complex of stress factors such as low temperature values, radiation, etc. We have shown that micromycetes can be used as a model group for study of eukaryotic organisms’ resistance to stress factors, due to their high tolerance not only to extreme terrestrial environments, but to the extraterrestrial ones as well.

Multiple actinomycete strains were isolated from two ant species, Lasius niger and Formica cunicularia, and their phenotypic properties and phylogenetic position were studied. Partial sequencing of 16S rRNA assigned the most part of them to the genus Streptomyces, but only one belonged to the Nocardia. However, some isolates had got significant color and morphological differences from their closest phylogenetic relatives. The abundance and biodiversity of actinomycete communities isolated from ants L. niger greatly exceeded those found for F. cunicularia. All of the actinomycetes associated with ants F. cunicularia demonstrated cellulolytic activity but among the strains associated with black ants only one had such ability.

The effect of extracellular proteases of A. flavipes A17, A. fumigatus D1 and A. sydowii 1 to proteins of the human hemostasis system was studied. It was shown that A. fumigatus D1 proteinases are able to hydrolyze wide range of chromogenic peptide substrates of specific human proteinases of the haemostatic system. Proteinases formed by A. flavipes A17 and A. sydowii 1 have a narrow specificity, mainly to thrombin and plasmin substrates. It was first shown that proteinase of A. flavipes A17 is capable to activate protein C and Factor X. Extracellular proteinase produced by A. sydowii 1 has greater fibrinolytic activity as compared with proteinases produced by A. flavipes A17 and A. fumigatus D1.

Voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 is involved in a number of processes in excitable and non-excitable cells: maintenance of resting membrane potential, transfer of signals, apoptosis, regulation of cell volume, activation and proliferation of white blood cells. Blocking this channel is an effective approach for the treatment of autoimmune, oncological, chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases. The most prospective blockers of Kv1.3 are toxins isolated from the venom of scorpions. Knowledge of the molecular aspects of binding of peptide blockers with channel is an important condition for the creation of highly effective and selective ligands. In the present work a complex of hybrid channel KcsA-Kv1.3 with agitoxin 2 was built using homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation. Analysis of formed contacts allowed us to reveal a complete pattern of interactions and to identify key residues that are responsible for the toxin binding affinity. Results of computational experiment are consistent with the experimental data and important for drug development.

Miniaturization of organisms is one of the most interesting evolutionary phenomena. This is a very common process, widely represented in multicellular organisms: invertebrates (nemertean, nematodes, brachiopods, mollusca, arachnids, and insects) and vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, birds, and even mammals). Miniaturization leads to a significant reduction in the body size and simplifying of some systems and organs without loss of species viability. The cell size reduce as well as genome and gene structure change during minitiaruzation. Typically, this complex evolutionary modification is associated with the occupation of ecological niches. Parasitoid wasp Megaphragma amalphitanum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is considered one of the smallest insects described to date and therefore is attractive as an object for studying of genetic aspects of body size reduction during evolution. The whole genome sequencing of M. amalphitanum and subsequent genome annotation and transcriptome assembly allow us to understand how the genetic material changes during miniaturization in relation to the corresponding characteristics of the larger Hymenoptera species. Preliminary analysis showed that the genome size of the M. amalphitanum is 346 Mbp; the transcriptome size is 27.5 Mbp.

Beats are the physical phenomenon appearing when two oscillation processes of close frequencies are superimposed. In acoustics, there is also the term “binaural beats” — a subjective feeling of the listener when acoustic tones of slightly different frequency are applied separately to each ear. Commercial products based on the effect of binaural beats enjoy steady popularity in the market of the modern technological tools for psycho- and physiotherapy. In particular, they are applied to improve sleep. But it is the objective evaluation of physiologic effect of binaural beats on sleep onset process that has very little evidence to support. The paper provides comparative analysis of the time to fall asleep determined by the onset of 2nd sleep stage (sleep spindle appearance). The subjects listened to monotonous sound of three similar kinds including the combination of binaural beats with pink noise; the similar sound with the combination of monaural beats; the similar sound without any beat. The stimulation by the combination of binaural beats is shown to produce the least sleep onset time compared to similar sound containing monaural beats as well as to similar beatless sound. Further investigation is required to get results that are more consistent.