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Analysis of 30 tomato cultivars with different fruit locule numbers revealed four cultivars with multi-locular fruits carrying a null mutation in the SlFAS gene. It was shown that cultivars with more than two fruit locules contain two SNPs, associated with the multi-locule trait, at the locule number locus. Co-expression profile of SlFAS, SlYABBY2 and SlYABBY5 genes was determined in a young bud and at three stages of fruit development in three tomato cultivars contrasting in the fruit locule number. In the Cœur de bœuf cultivar (≥10 locules), SlFAS transcripts were absent in all analyzed tissues. In addition, compared with the Red Cherry (2 locules) and Viking (5–6 locules) cultivars, in the Cœur de bœuf bud and fruits, the transcription levels of SlYABBY2 and SlYABBY5 were considerably lower and higher, respectively.

The sequences of the apoplastic invertase inhibitor gene INVINH1 were identified in 71 maize accessions from the collection of the Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR). In total, 35 INVINH1 allelic variants were found. In 21 maize accessions, at position –95 from the start codon, INVINH1 contained an extended insertion (143, 190, 192, or 210 bp). In INVINH1 proteins, 21 amino acid substitutions were identified, six of which (A49V, A49G, A65P, S97I, C99R, and D108Y), predicted to be radical, were localized in the PMEI functional domain.

Transcriptome analysis of leaf and pitcher at different developmental stages in the carnivorous plant Nepenthes sp. identified 20 cDNAs of the SWEET gene family encoding sugar uniporters of classes I–IV. The structure of NSWEET proteins generally corresponded to the 3-1-3 scheme typical of SWEET proteins in eukaryotes. The variability in the expression of NSWEET genes in the mature leaf and in the three stages of pitcher development indicates the possible functional diversity of these genes. It has been suggested that class I transporters (NSWEET2d, 2f, and 2h) may participate in export of sugars from the leaf to the site of pitcher meristem initiation, while proteins NSWEET1, 2a, 2k (class I), 4a, 4b, 4d (II), and 12c (III) may participate in the delivery of sugars for the primary development of the pitcher. In subsequent stages, they can be replaced by NSWEET2b, 2c, 2e, 2i, 2j (class I), 4c (II), and 12b (III), delivering hexoses and sucrose to the growing pitcher. In the fully formed pitcher, proteins NSWEET12a (III), 2g (I), and 16 (IV) can export sugars from the digestive fluid to the leaf.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast rps2 gene is determined and the polymorphism of this gene in 26 Monotropa hypopitys accessions from the populations of the European part of Russia is analyzed. The studied accessions can be divided into two groups on the basis of the rps2 gene length. In the first group, the rps2 gene sequence length is 711 bp, and in the second group, it is 753 bp. Also, the groups differ from each other by 42 SNPs, which lead to 11 radical and 15 conservative amino acid substitutions in the amino acid sequence of the protein. They also differ in the position of regulatory elements in the 5'-untranslated region of the gene.

Intraspecific sequence polymorphism in the ITS region of the nuclear ribosomal operon was examined in ten populations of the parasitic plant Monotropa hypopitys from Belgorod region, Vologda region, and Kaluga region of Russia. Based on an analysis of the identified nucleotide substitutions and indels in the ITS regions, the M. hypopitys populations were divided into two groups (A and B). Four new ITS haplotypes of M. hypopitys were identified.

Uncultured microorganisms represent a significant part of the Earth's biodiversity. Natural ecosystems contain less than 0.1-1% of the microorganisms that can be cultured in the laboratory. Therefore, new methodological approaches are required for the identification and description of uncultured microorganisms, for studies of their genetic diversity and the structure of microbial associations, and for an understanding of their ecological importance in the biosphere. Metagenomics, a method of analyzing the collective genome.of a microbial community without cultivation, makes it possible to unravel fundamental matters of the microbiology and ecology of microorganisms. Another efficient method of analysis of uncultured forms of microorganisms is "single cell genomics," which involves the isolation of single cells from microbial communities and the sequencing of their genomes. Developed in the last decade, the high throughput technologies of next-generation sequencing provide important input into the investigation of genome reconstruction for all of the microorganisms residing and interacting within ecosystems. This review describes the major methodological approaches used in metagenomic analysis of microbial communities, as well as accomplishments in the search for new uncultured microorganism, the unraveling of their genomes, and an elucidation of their role in ecosystems.

Nucleotide sequences of the self-splicing group-II intron of rps16 have first been determined in nine species of the Solanum genus. It was found that the observed variations in the intron length (855-864 bp) was associated with indels of 1 to 9 b. Altogether, five indels and 50 nucleotide substitutions were detected, which were used to identify six Solanum haplotypes. Although the intron sequence was in general fairly well conserved, the distribution of the described mutations among its structural elements corresponding to six preRNA domains was qualitatively and quantitatively nonuniform. The highest polymorphism levels were observed in domains I, II, and IV. The sequence of domain V was absolutely invariable, which is in agreement with its functional significance.

The multilocus RAPD analysis of intergeneric, inter-and intraspecific nuclear genome polymorphism was used for the first time to assess intergeneric, interspecific, and intraspecific polymorphism in Lemnaceae growing on the territory of Russia. The origin of the chosen accessions overlapped with the natural range of duckweeds in Russia. Seventy-five Lemnaceae accessions representing eight species (L. minor, L. gibba, L. turionifera, L. japonica, L. trisulca, L. aequinoctialis, S. polyrhiza, and L. punctata) from three genera (Lemna, Spirodela, and Landoltia), were analyzed. The highest variability levels were revealed in L. minor accessions (0.03–0.20). Species L. trisulca and S. polyrhiza were characterized by values of genetic distance 0.01–0.18 and 0.03–0.16, respectively. The lowest polymorphism levels were detected for L. turionifera (0.01–0.11). The dendrogram based on RAPD data showed that L. aequinoctialis was the most genetically distant species of the genus Lemna. Accessions of species L. turionifera and L. japonica, as well as L. minor and L. gibba, did not form separate species-specific subclusters; rather, they fell into clusters with L. japonica/L. turionifera and L. minor/L. gibba. Accessions of the genera Spirodela and Landoltia formed two separate clusters combined into one group.