Search

Colletotrichum lini is a pathogenic fungus that infects flax and causes significant yield losses. In this study, we assembled the genomes of four highly virulent C. lini strains using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT, R10.4.1 flow cells) and Illumina platforms. The performance of two tools developed for telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assembly was compared: Verkko and Hifiasm. Prior to the assembly, ONT reads were corrected using the HERRO algorithm. Verkko generated genome assemblies of high completeness but low contiguity, while Hifiasm allowed the generation of T2T assemblies. Despite significantly different genome coverage with ONT data (25-100×), four assemblies of equal contiguity were obtained: 53.6-54.7 Mb, ten core chromosomes, and two or three accessory chromosomes. A comparative analysis of different polishing tools showed that at a certain genome coverage with the corrected ONT data (≥35×), the additional polishing of the assembly did not improve its accuracy, even with the Illumina data. An analysis of the genome structures of the four C. lini strains revealed a high similarity between the core chromosomes. Thus, our approach enabled assembling T2T Colletotrichum genomes only from the ONT data obtained using R10.4.1 flow cells and may be promising for other fungal genera. These assemblies will allow the accurate identification of strain-specific differences at the chromosome level and will aid in the development of effective strategies to protect flax from anthracnose.

Colletotrichum lini is a fungal pathogen of flax that can cause significant yield and quality losses. In this work, we obtained the first complete annotated genome assembly of the highly virulent C. lini strain #394-2. The nuclear genome consisted of ten core and two accessory chromosomes and had a length of 53.7 Mb. The mitochondrial genome was 39.1 kb. The assembly was obtained by the Canu-Racon ×2-Medaka-Polca algorithm using Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Illumina data. As a result of the annotation with the Illumina RNA-Seq data, 12,449 genes were identified. Potential signaling proteins were tested for effector functions and 550 effector proteins were predicted using EffectorP. The visualization of the effector protein localization revealed that the presence of effector proteins was associated with repeat-rich regions. A comparison of the genomic structure of C. lini with chromosome-level and complete assemblies of the genus Colletotrichum representatives revealed that the genomes of Colletotrichum species differed by the presence of chromosomal rearrangements. The obtained assembly expands the knowledge of the genomic structure of Colletotrichum species and provides the basis for further studies of C. lini , which will help to understand the virulence mechanisms and protect flax from anthracnose.

Background: There is enough evidence of the negative impact of excess weight on the formation and progression of res piratory pathology. Given the continuing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is relevant to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the clinical features of the novel coronavirus infection (NCI)., Aim: To study the effect of BMI on the course of the acute SARS-COV-2 infection and the post-covid period., Materials and Methods: AKTIV and AKTIV 2 are multicenter non-interventional real-world registers. The АКТИВ registry (n=6396) includes non-overlapping outpatient and inpatient arms with 6 visits in each. The АКТИВ 2 registry (n=2968) collected  the  data  of  hospitalized  patients  and  included  3  visits.  All  subjects  were  divided  into  3  groups:  not  overweight  (n=2139), overweight (n=2931) and obese (n=2666)., Results: A higher BMI was significantly associated with a more severe course of the infection in the form of acute kidney injury (p=0.018), cytokine storm (p<0.001), serum C-reactive protein over 100 mg/l (p<0.001), and the need for targeted therapy (p<0.001) in the hospitalized patients. Obesity increased the odds of myocarditis by 1,84 times (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1,13-3,00) and the need for anticytokine therapy by 1,7 times (95% CI: 1,30-2,30).The  patients  with  the  1st  and  2nd  degree  obesity,  undergoing  the  inpatient  treatment,  tended  to  have  a  higher  probability  of  a  mortality  rate.  While  in  case  of  morbid  obesity  patients  this  tendency  is  the  most  significant  (odds  ratio  -  1,78; 95% CI: 1,13-2,70). At the same time, the patients whose chronical diseases first appeared after the convalescence period, and those who had certain complaints missing before SARS-CoV-2 infection, more often had BMI of more than 30 kg/m2 (p<0,001).Additionally, the odds of death increased by 2,23 times (95% CI: 1,05-4,72) within 3 months after recovery in obese people over the age of 60 yearsCONCLUSION.  Overweight  and/or  obesity  is  a  significant  risk  factor  for severe  course  of  the  new  coronavirus  infection  and  the associated cardiovascular and kidney damage Overweight people and patients with the 1st and 2nd degree obesity tend to have a high risk of death of SARS-CoV-2 infection in both acute and post-covid periods. On top of that, in case of morbid obesity patients this tendency is statistically significant. Normalization of body weight is a strategic objective of modern medicine and can contribute to prevention of respiratory conditions, severe course and complications of the new coronavirus infection.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cortexin in the complex of rehabilitation measures for verticalization in patients with ischemic stroke in the acute period., Material and Methods: The study included 90 patients with hemispheric ischemic stroke. Patients of the first group (n=30) received cortexin in a dose of 20 mg per day intramuscularly for 10 days, along with basic therapy during early verticalization. Patients of the second group (n=30) received basic therapy during early verticalization and patients of the third group (n=30) received only basic therapy without verticalization. To assess the severity of condition, NIHSS, modified Rankin scale, the Barthel index, the Rivermead mobility index, MMSE, MOCA were used. To study cardiovascular function in patients, the segmental part of the autonomic nervous system was studied: a test with isometric load, a Valsalva test, a test based on the change in heart rate with slow deep breathing. All studies were conducted before and 10-14 days after treatment., Results and Conclusion: The most complete regression of neurological deficits and manifestations of cardiac autonomic neuropathy during the acute period of ischemic stroke was observed in the group of patients treated with cortexin (20 mg per day for 10 days), along with basic therapy and early verticalization, compared to the groups, which received basic therapy with early verticalization or basic therapy without verticalization.

In a previous study, we described 2 forms of cyclic enterobacterial common antigen (ECACYC), a tetramer and a pentamer, from Escherichia coli O157. ECACYC is present in several representatives of the Enterobacteriaceae. To date, functional studies on ECACYC are sparse. Cyclic oligosaccharides in other bacteria, like the cyclic β-glucans in Rhizobiaceae, represent microbe-associated molecular patterns involved in host-bacteria interaction. This observation determined the aim of the present study: to test whether the tetrameric and pentameric ECACYC from E. coli O157 can be recognised by host humoral and cellular mechanisms. ELISA tests designed to compare the 2 ECACYC with the O157 lipopolysaccharide showed that both ECACYC were not recognised by polyclonal anti-O157 serum but were good ligands for mannan-binding lectin. The lectin had a higher affinity for the tetramer than the pentamer. ECACYC deposited more C3b than did the lipopolysaccharide. To examine the interactions with human circulating neutrophils, the antigens were loaded onto fluorescent latex beads and applied in a phagocytosis experiment. Spheres coated with the 2 ECACYC occasionally adhered to phagocyte surfaces but, unlike O157-loaded spheres, failed to induce free-radical release. The results show that the 2 ECACYC represent microbe-associated molecular patterns recognised by host humoral non-self-recognition mechanisms.

Polymorphism of satellite DNA II and IV was studied in Bos taurus by means of Southern blotting and dot hybridization. Of primary interest is the absence of restriction fragment length polymorphism at the individual and interbreed levels. Differences in the content of satellite II in the genome are demonstrated for animals of the Kholmogorskaya and Yakutian breeds. The specific features of satellite IV organization in the bison, banteng and yak are revealed, allowing the use of the satellite as a specific genetic marker. Superposition of parental organizational types of this class of repeats is detected for the interspecies hybrids yak x cattle, banteng x cattle, and bison x cattle. At the same time, several cases of deviation from classic inheritance of such parental types in the interspecies hybrids were found.

The uniform distribution of satellite DNA II and IV has been revealed using in situ hybridization and differential staining in centromeric regions of autosomes. The sex chromosomes have not found such nucleotide blocks. There is only minor satellite IV block inside Y chromosome short arm. The Y chromosome has got some (TG)n enriched blocks distributed also among other parts of genome and one copy of sequences like human ZFY gene. The high repetitive fraction of bovine genomic DNA have not revealed RFLP. However, the difference has been found by blot hybridization between genomic organization of satellite IV in cattle and yak chromosomal DNA. Non-Mendelian distribution of some such nucleotide blocks has been obtained for interspecies crosses of cattle and yak.

A nonconstitutional translocation, t(1;17)(q21;p11), has been observed in bone marrow cells from a young patient with myelodysplastic syndrome during a 4-year period. Cytogenetic findings and some clinical aspects are briefly discussed.

Sensitivity of staphylococci isolated from the pathological material of outpatients with purulent inflammatory infections and inpatients was studied with respect to 10 antibiotics. The agar diffusion method with standard paper discs impregnated with the antibiotics was used. It was shown that the majority of the staphylococcal cultures isolated from the outpatients was sensitive to the aminoglycoside antibiotics: neomycin 89.7 per cent, monomycin 87.3 per cent and kanamycin 82.9 per cent. The sensitivity of the isolates to benzylpenicillin, levomycetin, erythromycin and oleandomycin was lower and amounted to 63.5, 64.6, 66 and 69 per cent respectively. The sensitivity of the cultures isolated from the inpatients to benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, oleandomycin and levomycetin amounted to 43.4, 45.5, and 49.5 and 53.3 per cent respectively. The comparative study on the antibiotic resistance pattern showed that more than a half of the cultures isolated from the inpatients were polyresistant (resistance to 4--10 antibiotics). The number of such cultures isolated from the outpatients amounted to 32.8 per cent. Cultures sensitive to all of the antibiotics tested and resistant to 1, 2 or 3 of them predominated in this group of the isolates.