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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic.

© 2019, The Author(s). The second plague pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis, devastated Europe and the nearby regions between the 14th and 18th centuries AD. Here we analyse human remains from ten European archaeological sites spanning this period and reconstruct 34 ancient Y. pestis genomes. Our data support an initial entry of the bacterium through eastern Europe, the absence of genetic diversity during the Black Death, and low within-outbreak diversity thereafter. Analysis of post-Black Death genomes shows the diversification of a Y. pestis lineage into multiple genetically distinct clades that may have given rise to more than one disease reservoir in, or close to, Europe. In addition, we show the loss of a genomic region that includes virulence-related genes in strains associated with late stages of the pandemic. The deletion was also identified in genomes connected with the first plague pandemic (541–750 AD), suggesting a comparable evolutionary trajectory of Y. pestis during both events.

Copyright © 2019 American Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved. In order to find new antibiotics the investigation was undertaken and resulted in isolation of 18 actinomycetes from different samples of soils of Mongolia, and different types of Russia soil and the waste water. Out of 18 isolates 9 showed inhibitory activity against at least one of four bacteria i.e., Bacillus megaterium, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, or Pseudomonas putida, and 6 of the 18—against at least one of five fungi, i.e., Trichoderma asperellum, Aspergillus Niger, Penicillus sp., Fusarium oxysporum, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The isolates, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi, were identified on the bases of morphological and biochemical properties as well as 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Further works are needed on optimization of these isolates’ antagonistic activities and characterization of the antimicrobial metabolites.

© 2018 The Author(s). The origin of Yersinia pestis and the early stages of its evolution are fundamental subjects of investigation given its high virulence and mortality that resulted from past pandemics. Although the earliest evidence of Y. pestis infections in humans has been identified in Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Eurasia (LNBA 5000-3500y BP), these strains lack key genetic components required for flea adaptation, thus making their mode of transmission and disease presentation in humans unclear. Here, we reconstruct ancient Y. pestis genomes from individuals associated with the Late Bronze Age period (~3800 BP) in the Samara region of modern-day Russia. We show clear distinctions between our new strains and the LNBA lineage, and suggest that the full ability for flea-mediated transmission causing bubonic plague evolved more than 1000 years earlier than previously suggested. Finally, we propose that several Y. pestis lineages were established during the Bronze Age, some of which persist to the present day.

© 2016 Elsevier Inc.Ancient DNA analysis has revealed an involvement of the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis in several historical pandemics, including the second plague pandemic (Europe, mid-14th century Black Death until the mid-18th century AD). Here we present reconstructed Y. pestis genomes from plague victims of the Black Death and two subsequent historical outbreaks spanning Europe and its vicinity, namely Barcelona, Spain (1300-1420 cal AD), Bolgar City, Russia (1362-1400 AD), and Ellwangen, Germany (1485-1627 cal AD). Our results provide support for (1) a single entry of Y. pestis in Europe during the Black Death, (2) a wave of plague that traveled toward Asia to later become the source population for contemporary worldwide epidemics, and (3) the presence of an historical European plague focus involved in post-Black Death outbreaks that is now likely extinct.

We studied the influence of the culture fluid of fungi of the genus Trichoderma on Swiss Webster CFW mice after exposure to pyrene - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can cause pathological changes in the body. Beneficial effect of Trichoderma metabolites on haematological parameters, the functioning of liver and nephros was shown, the trend toward regeneration of the structure of skin and liver after the damages, caused by the introduction of pyrene, was identified.

Previously, 135 strains of Trichoderma isolated from buried soils of Tatarstan have been identified as T. asperellum, T. viride, T. atroviride, T. harzianum, T. hamatum, T. citrinoviride and T longibrachiatum. At this stage, the biochemical analysis of the strains was carried out using the Biolog system, which being a simple screening test enables rapid preparation of strains based on 95 substrates. We have revealed that each species has only a specific substrate utilisation profile. Biochemical analysis provides a large amount of information that can then be used for optimization of biotechnological processes, in particular, the selection of effective nutrient media.

Melanoma is one of the most malignant tumors, which leaves no chance of survival in the case of the «bang». There are various ways to treat tumors, however, recently in the field of cancer research, there are studies in which fungal metabolites have been used as antitumor agents. In this study we examined the effect of the culture fluid of the fungus Trichoderma asperellum 302 on the growth and development of melanoma B16. We have shown that these culture fluid has anticancer properties, causing destruction of tumor tissue. Obtained data open new possibilities and prospects for the use of active substances derived from fungi in the complex therapy of cancer.

© 2016 Elsevier Inc.Ancient DNA analysis has revealed an involvement of the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis in several historical pandemics, including the second plague pandemic (Europe, mid-14th century Black Death until the mid-18th century AD). Here we present reconstructed Y. pestis genomes from plague victims of the Black Death and two subsequent historical outbreaks spanning Europe and its vicinity, namely Barcelona, Spain (1300-1420 cal AD), Bolgar City, Russia (1362-1400 AD), and Ellwangen, Germany (1485-1627 cal AD). Our results provide support for (1) a single entry of Y. pestis in Europe during the Black Death, (2) a wave of plague that traveled toward Asia to later become the source population for contemporary worldwide epidemics, and (3) the presence of an historical European plague focus involved in post-Black Death outbreaks that is now likely extinct.

We studied the influence of the culture fluid of fungi of the genus Trichoderma on Swiss Webster CFW mice after exposure to pyrene - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can cause pathological changes in the body. Beneficial effect of Trichoderma metabolites on haematological parameters, the functioning of liver and nephros was shown, the trend toward regeneration of the structure of skin and liver after the damages, caused by the introduction of pyrene, was identified.

Previously, 135 strains of Trichoderma isolated from buried soils of Tatarstan have been identified as T. asperellum, T. viride, T. atroviride, T. harzianum, T. hamatum, T. citrinoviride and T longibrachiatum. At this stage, the biochemical analysis of the strains was carried out using the Biolog system, which being a simple screening test enables rapid preparation of strains based on 95 substrates. We have revealed that each species has only a specific substrate utilisation profile. Biochemical analysis provides a large amount of information that can then be used for optimization of biotechnological processes, in particular, the selection of effective nutrient media.

Melanoma is one of the most malignant tumors, which leaves no chance of survival in the case of the «bang». There are various ways to treat tumors, however, recently in the field of cancer research, there are studies in which fungal metabolites have been used as antitumor agents. In this study we examined the effect of the culture fluid of the fungus Trichoderma asperellum 302 on the growth and development of melanoma B16. We have shown that these culture fluid has anticancer properties, causing destruction of tumor tissue. Obtained data open new possibilities and prospects for the use of active substances derived from fungi in the complex therapy of cancer.