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We studied the effect of immunization with a serotonin-bovine serum albumin conjugate on parameters of stress reaction to immobilization stress in rats. Active immunization was accompanied by changes in parameters reflecting animal resistance to emotional stress. The observed changes can be interpreted as a decrease in individual resistance to emotional stress. Active immunization of rats with a serotonin-bovine serum albumin conjugate was accompanied by production of autoantibodies against serotonin and dopamine. The role of autoantibodies against dopamine in modulation of the effect of immunization with serotonin-bovine serum albumin conjugate on the stress reaction in rats is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the effect of single intraperitoneal treatment with antibodies to glutamate on pentylenetetrazole-induced acute generalized epileptiform activity in C57Bl/6 mice. The antiepileptic effect was observed 1.5 and 24 h after administration of antibodies to glutamate in doses of 10, 25, and 50 mg/kg. This treatment increased the thresholds of clonic seizures and tonic phase of seizures with lethal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most harmful bacterial diseases of soybean is bacterial blight caused by bacterium Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea. The pathogen can reduce soybean yield (up to 40 %), oil content and seed germination. To manage the pathogen damage, protection measures should be comprehensive, the most cardinal of which is breeding for resistance. To obtain resistant varieties, it is necessary to understand the diversity of the pathogen in the area and to breed against the most common and harmful forms of the pathogen. In this regard, the aim of the study was to characterize Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea strains circulating in the Russian Federation as casual agents of bacterial blight of soybean. 12 strains of the soybean bacterial blight pathogen were isolated from soybean plant parts and seeds grown in different regions of the Russian Federation. The isolated strains were identical to the reference strain Psg CFBP 2214 in fluorescence, colony morphology on King B medium and LOPAT test results (+, , , , , +) and formed an amplicon in specific PCR analysis of cfl (coronafacate ligase) gene. The strains had different virulence to Kasatka soybean plants, and the width of symptomatic zone when leaves were artificially inoculated ranged from 3.23 mm (in strain G7) to 6.53 mm in strain G4. Comparison of the obtained gltA and ITS 16S-23S rRNA gene sequences showed a high (95.898.8 %) identity to the bacterial blight pathogen strains deposited to NCBI Genbank, and phylogenetic analysis showed a low intra-strain genetic polymorphism. Analysis of the race composition of the strains showed that the race 4 was predominant in the Russian Federation.

Infective endocarditis in children is a rare disease, which often has an extremely serious prognosis. The most common risk factor for infective endocarditis in this category of patients is the history of congenital heart disease. At the same time, currently, the disruption of the integrity of the peripheral vascular bed is increasingly noted, among the predisposing causes, due to invasive diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures, as well as severe somatic diseases. In accordance with the developed recommendations, the appointment of antibacterial therapy for infective endocarditis should be based on etiotropic orientation. Taking these circumstances into account, the article presents an overview of the data reflecting the issues of etiology and choice of antibacterial therapy for infective endocarditis in pediatric practice.

Phytopathogenic bacteria of the genus Pectobacterium are responsible for several diseases that affect potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production worldwide, including blackleg and tuber soft rot. These bacteria are highly diverse, with over 17 different species currently identified. However, some of the recently described species, such as Pectobacterium punjabense, are still poorly understood. In this study, we focused on P. punjabense isolates collected from diseased potato tubers in Russia in 2021. Whole-genome sequencing was used to characterise the genomic diversity of the pathogen and determine the biochemical profiles of the isolated bacteria. The ability of these isolates to cause soft rot symptoms was tested. A comparative assessment of the potential pathogenicity of the Pectobacterium isolates was conducted by infecting potato tubers and measuring the accumulation of biomass in a liquid medium during cultivation at different temperatures. A TaqMan qPCR assay was developed for the highly sensitive and specific characterisation of P. punjabense strains, which can be used in diagnostic systems. This is the first report on P. punjabense causing potato disease in the Russian Federation.

The genus Acinetobacter comprises both environmental and clinically relevant species associated with hospital-acquired infections. Among them, Acinetobacter baumannii is a critical priority bacterial pathogen, for which the research and development of new strategies for antimicrobial treatment are urgently needed. Acinetobacter spp. produce a variety of structurally diverse capsular polysaccharides (CPSs), which surround the bacterial cells with a thick protective layer. These surface structures are primary receptors for capsule-specific bacteriophages, that is, phages carrying tailspikes with CPS-depolymerizing/modifying activities. Phage tailspike proteins (TSPs) exhibit hydrolase, lyase, or esterase activities toward the corresponding CPSs of a certain structure. In this study, the data on all lytic capsule-specific phages infecting Acinetobacter spp. with genomes deposited in the NCBI GenBank database by January 2024 were summarized. Among the 149 identified TSPs encoded in the genomes of 143 phages, the capsular specificity (K specificity) of 46 proteins has been experimentally determined or predicted previously. The specificity of 63 TSPs toward CPSs, produced by various Acinetobacter K types, was predicted in this study using a bioinformatic analysis. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis confirmed the prediction and revealed the possibility of the genetic exchange of gene regions corresponding to the CPS-recognizing/degrading parts of different TSPs between morphologically and taxonomically distant groups of capsule-specific Acinetobacter phages.

The ability of bacteriophages to destroy bacteria has made them the subject of extensive research. Interest in bacteriophages has recently increased due to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, although genomic research has not kept pace with the growth of genomic data. Genomic analysis and, especially, the taxonomic description of bacteriophages are often difficult due to the peculiarities of the evolution of bacteriophages, which often includes the horizontal transfer of genes and genomic modules. The latter is particularly pronounced for temperate bacteriophages, which are capable of integration into the bacterial chromosome. Xanthomonas phage PBR31 is a temperate bacteriophage, which has been neither described nor classified previously, that infects the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Genomic analysis, including phylogenetic studies, indicated the separation of phage PBR31 from known classified bacteriophages, as well as its distant relationship with other temperate bacteriophages, including the Lederbervirus group. Bioinformatic analysis of proteins revealed distinctive features of PBR31, including the presence of a protein similar to the small subunit of D-family DNA polymerase and advanced lysis machinery. Taxonomic analysis showed the possibility of assigning phage PBR31 to a new taxon, although the complete taxonomic description of Xanthomonas phage PBR31 and other related bacteriophages is complicated by the complex evolutionary history of the formation of its genome. The general biological features of the PBR31 phage were analysed for the first time. Due to its presumably temperate lifestyle, there is doubt as to whether the PBR31 phage is appropriate for phage control purposes. Bioinformatics analysis, however, revealed the presence of cell wall-degrading enzymes that can be utilised for the treatment of bacterial infections.

Many bacterial plant pathogens have a broad host range important for their life cycle. Alternate hosts from plant families other than the main (primary) host support the survival and dissemination of the pathogen population even in absence of main host plants. Metabolic peculiarities of main and alternative host plants can affect genetic diversity within and between the pathogen populations isolated from those plants. Strains of Gram-positive bacterium Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens were identified as being causal agents of bacterial spot and wilt diseases on leguminous plants, and other crop and weed plants, collected in different regions of Russia. Their biochemical properties and susceptibility to copper compounds have been found to be relatively uniform. According to conventional PCR assays, all of the isolates studied were categorised as pathovar Curtobacterim flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens, a pathogen of legumes. However, the strains demonstrated a substantial diversity in terms of virulence on several tested host plants and different phylogenetic relationships were revealed by BOX-PCR and alanine synthase gene (alaS) sequencing.

Phages of phytopathogenic bacteria are considered to be promising agents for the biological control of bacterial diseases in plants. This paper reports on the isolation and characterisation of a new Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris phage, Murka. Phage morphology and basic kinetic characteristics of the infection were determined, and a phylogenomic analysis was performed. The phage was able to lyse a reasonably broad range (64%, 9 of the 14 of the Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris strains used in the study) of circulating strains of the cabbage black rot pathogen. This lytic myovirus has a DNA genome of 44,044 bp and contains 83 predicted genes. Taxonomically, it belongs to the genus Foxunavirus. This bacteriophage is promising for use as a possible means of biological control of cabbage black rot.

One of the strategic ways in the development of multilayer fields is to identify the source of water inflow into the well production and, as a result, to eliminate it with subsequent optimization of the production of non-watered formations. A method for assessing the degree of water cut in formations based on the quantitative characteristics of the composition of the produced water is proposed in this article. The study of a wide collection of produced water samples made it possible to trace the change in its geochemical composition depending on the age of formation of the reservoir in the Volga-Ural region.The microelements and macro element composition of water, as well as its isotopic composition were investigated. The water of different layers differs in some of the elements, which are called «key elements». Using the methods of mathematical statistics at 2 reservoir objects operated by a common filter, the incoming water was divided into fractions depending on the geochemical composition. It is shown which of the layers has more water out. The feasibility of carrying out these geochemical studies was confirmed by blocking one of the production wells operating in 2 layers, the most watered interval according to geochemical studies, as a result of which the water cut of the well production decreased from an average of 75% to 4% and is observed for several months, the oil production rate increased from 1–2 t/day to 2.5–3 t/day and remains at a constant level.

Introduction. Epidemiological studies noted a progressive increase in the incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Despite the improvement in radiation diagnosis of RCC, the number of primary metastatic forms and number of secondary progressive forms after radical surgical treatment remains high with no apparent downward trend. This may be due to changes in the biology of RCC, which is expressed in the increasing aggressiveness of the tumor tissue. However, studies on the biological characteristics of the change in tumor for a long period of time is very small.Objective. To evaluate and compare the profiles of patients with RCC, the morphological characteristics of renal tumors, the options for surgical treatment and its results in two consecutive decades.Materials and methods. The study included 306 operated and monitored patients with RCC. The patients were divided into two groups: 1 group - 149 patients treated from 1996 to 2005 and 2 group - 157 patients treated from 2006 op 2015. The group analyzed the profiles of patients and morphological characteristics of the tumor.Results. In patients of the group 2, tumors >4 cm were characterized by a lower degree of tissue differentiation (G2-G3) compared to the group 1 (54.54% vs. 48.57%) and T3a (60% vs. 42.26%). A similar difference was noted for tumors measuring 4-7 cm (G2-G3 - 67.69% vs. 57.75%, T3a - 79.54% vs. 32.15%). Tumors of the group2 in the stages Tla, Tib, T2 and T3a are less frequent had a high degree of differentiation (Gl) in comparison with tumors of similar stages of group 1 (52.17% vs. 59.26%, 35.71% vs. 58.06%, 11.11% vs. 18.75% and 12.12% vs. 28%, respectively.) In the group 2, regional and distant metastasis was noted more often than in group 1 (34.6% vs. 20.33%). Survival in group 2 decreased in comparison with group 1 (3-year-old: total - 78.37% vs. 83.02%, oncological - 81.43% vs. 87.15%, 5-year-old: total - 73.86% vs. 79.21%, oncological - 78.69% vs. 83.91% ).Conclusions. The comparative analysis showed an increase in aggressive tumor potential in group 2 compared to group 1.

The study of the ecological and evolutionary traits of Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP) comprising genera Pectobacterium and Dickeya often involves bacterial viruses (bacteriophages). Bacteriophages are considered to be a prospective tool for the ecologically safe and highly specific protection of plants and harvests from bacterial diseases. Information concerning bacteriophages has been growing rapidly in recent years, and this has included new genomics-based principles of taxonomic distribution. In this review, we summarise the data on phages infecting Pectobacterium and Dickeya that are available in publications and genomic databases. The analysis highlights not only major genomic properties that assign phages to taxonomic families and genera, but also the features that make them potentially suitable for phage control applications. Specifically, there is a discussion of the molecular mechanisms of receptor recognition by the phages and problems concerning the evolution of phage-resistant mutants.

Acinetobacter baumannii appears to be one of the most crucial nosocomial pathogens. A possible component of antimicrobial therapy for infections caused by extremely drug-resistant A. baumannii strains may be specific lytic bacteriophages or phage-derived enzymes. In the present study, we observe the biological features, genomic organization, and phage–host interaction strategy of novel virulent bacteriophage Aristophanes isolated on A. baumannii strain having K26 capsular polysaccharide structure. According to phylogenetic analysis phage Aristophanes can be classified as a representative of a new distinct genus of the subfamily Beijerinckvirinae of the family Autographiviridae. This is the first reported A. baumannii phage carrying tailspike deacetylase, which caused O-acetylation of one of the K26 sugar residues.

The recent taxonomic diversification of bacterial genera Pectobacterium and Dickeya, which cause soft rot in plants, focuses attention on the need for improvement of existing methods for the detection and differentiation of these phytopathogens. This research presents a whole genome-based approach to the selection of marker sequences unique to particular species of Pectobacterium. The quantitative real-time PCR assay developed is selective in the context of all tested Pectobacterium atrosepticum strains and is able to detect fewer than 102 copies of target DNA per reaction. The presence of plant DNA extract did not affect the sensitivity of the assay.