We studied the possibility of using 4-hexylresorcinol to increase the efficiency of anti-mycobacterial chemotherapy. In an in vitro experiment, 4-hexylresorcinol increased the efficiency of rifampicin, kanamycin, and isoniazid against Mycobacterium smegmatis by 3-5 times. Experiments in sanitation of BALB/c mice infected with M. smegmatis showed the best efficacy of the isoniazid and 4-hexylresorcinol combination in comparison with isoniazid monotherapy. The growth-inhibiting activity of the combination of antibiotic rifabutin with 4-hexylresorcinol was shown on 6 strains of M. tuberculosis. A 2-fold decrease in the minimum inhibitory concentration of this antibiotic in the presence of half-minimum inhibitory concentration of 4-hexylresorcinol was demonstrated for monoresistant strain M. tuberculosis 5360/42Hr. On the mouse model of experimental tuberculosis caused by M. tuberculosis H37Rv, a 5-fold decrease in lung contamination and more rapid complete cure were achieved in animals treated with the combination of rifabutin and 4-hexylresorcinol in comparison with rifabutin monotherapy.

— The community of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) from the water column of the meromictic Lake Trekhtsvetnoe (Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea, Russia) was studied in March 2012 and 2013 and in September 2013 and 2014. The community structure below the chemocline was shown to restore during three years after partial mixing resulting from seawater admixture into the lake in autumn 2011; a dense layer (at least 10 8 cells mL –1 ) of green-colored (g/c) sulfur bacteria (GSB) was formed. During winter, development of low numbers of brown colored (b/c) GSB was observed in the upper layer of green water. During summer seasons, b/c GSB were found to be located in the oxic zone above the green water layer, which was unusual for these organisms. The APB community was found to contain purple bacteria. Four APB strains were isolated from the upper part of the sulfide zone. The b/c and g/c GSB strains were phylogenetically close to each other and to the type species Chlorobium phaeovibrioides DSM 265 (99% similarity gene sequences). One strain of purple bacteria was phylogenetically related to the brackish sulfur bacteria Thiocapsa marina , while the other was related to freshwater bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris . The strains of sulfur bacteria were phylogenetically close to the chemocline bacteria from the stratified Lake Kislo-Sladkoe, also located in the coastal zone of the Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea.

The paper discusses the problems associated with the priority social and economic development areas (PSEDAs) in Russia. The special role of high technologies in production processes in the priority social and economic development areas is noted. Attention is drawn to the goal of "advanced" development and to the functions of technological innovation and technological infrastructures in various fields of activity required for it. The methodological and technological foundations of "advanced development" are considered. The priority development in the Russian Federation is viewed through the prism of “industrialization 4.0”, the industrial revolution developing in the USA and Germany. “Industrialization 4.0” is a new model of development which marks the end of the industrial and socio-economic formations of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. As a result of the study, barriers to the creation of priority social and economic development areas were identified: the lack of a systematic approach to the implementation of a new type of special areas and an advanced scientific and technical base as the foundation for development in the modern world; the existence of a serious conflict of interest between stakeholders of the priority development areas; dominant decision making on survival strategies. The authors proposed to establish goal-setting as an important component in the national innovation system of Russia and determine technological directions, levels, criteria, qualimetric indicators based on the parameters and trends of the industrial revolution 4.0. The priority social and economic development areas should be considered as an important tool for the adaptation of technological clusters of Russia to international trends, regulations, key parameters, seeking to change the catch-up paradigm with the paradigm of economic development.

A small plasmid designated pCS36-4CPA with a size of 5217 base pairs and G-C content of 50.74% was isolated from Citrobacter sp. 36-4CPA. The origin of replication (ori) of the plasmid was identified as a region of about 800 bp in length with an identity of 67.1% to the ColE1 plasmid at the nucleotide level. The replication region contained typical elements of ColE1-like plasmids: RNA I and RNA II with their corresponding −10 and −35 boxes, a single-strand initiation site (ssi), and a lagging-strand termination site (terH). As seen in other ColE1-like plasmids, pCS36-4CPA carried mobilisation machinery that include mobABCD genes but it did not possess the rom gene. Analysis of the multimer resolution site (mrs) was performed and XerC and XerD binding sites were identified. Also, the 70-nt transcript Rcd of pCS36-4CPA was predicted and similarity of the transcript’s secondary structure with those of the ColE1-family was shown. The cargo module of pCS36-4CPA contained three open reading frames (ORFs). Two of them (ORF5 and ORF6) showed no significant homology to any known gene sequences but contained putative THAP DNA-binding (DBD) and type II restriction endonuclease EcoO109I domains. The seventh open reading frame (ORF7) encodes YhdJ-like DNA modification methylase. The region highly homologous to pCS36-4CPA was found in the Salmonella phage SE2 genome.

A new species of anammox bacteria, “Candidatus Jettenia ecosi,” was identified in the microbial community of a lab-scale vertical anaerobic upflow bioreactor fed with mineral medium and the biomass immobilized on a brush-shaped carrier. The reactor was inoculated with activated sludge from a denitrifying bioreactor of a municipal wastewater treatment station in the valley of the Mzymta River (Krasnodar krai, Russia). At constant increase of concentrations of the substrates for the anammox process (\({\text{NH}}_{4}^{ + }\) and \({\text{NO}}_{2}^{ - }\)) in the course of five years, a microbial community containing a new species of anammox bacteria “Candidatus Jettenia ecosi” developed in the bioreactor. Stable activity in a wide range of substrate concentrations (0.02 to 5.6 g N/L), рН (7.2 to 8.8), and under microaerophilic conditions (3% oxygen in the gas phase) were the remarkable features of the new species. Optimal growth temperature was 30°C. Doubling time of physiologically active anammox bacteria was 13 days. Cells of the new bacteria (~1 µm in diameter) exhibited the typical anammox morphology and ultrastructure. The cells had a tendency for attached growth and formation of biofilms. Hopanoids and ladderane lipids, which are among the key markers of this microorganisms, were found in the membranes of the new anammox bacteria. According to the results of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the new bacteria belong to the candidate genus “Candidatus Jettenia,” phylum Planctomycetes with the proposed name “Candidatus Jettenia ecosi” sp. nov.

Phototrophic bacterial mats from Kiran soda lake (south-eastern Siberia) were studied using integrated approach including analysis of the ion composition of water, pigments composition, bacterial diversity and the vertical distribution of phototrophic microorganisms in the mats. Bacterial diversity was investigated using microscopic examination, 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing and culturing methods. The mats were formed as a result of decomposition of sedimented planktonic microorganisms, among which cyanobacteria of the genus Arthrospira predominated. Cyanobacteria were the largest part of phototrophs in the mats, but anoxygenic phototrophs were significant fraction. The prevailing species of the anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria are typical for soda lakes. The mats harbored aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, purple sulfur and non-sulfur bacteria, as well as new filamentous phototrophic Chloroflexi. New strains of Thiocapsa sp. Kir-1, Ectothiorhodospira sp. Kir-2 and Kir-4, Thiorhodospira sp. Kir-3 and novel phototrophic Chloroflexi bacterium Kir15-3F were isolated and identified.

Diversity of magnetotactic bacteria in the Moskva River at the Strogino area was studied using microscopy and phylogenetic analysis. Magnetotactic cocci were the predominant morphotype. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed 13 OTUs of the orders Magnetococcales and Rhodospirillales, class Alphaproteobacteria. The shares of the relevant sequences were 90 and 10%, respectively. An axenic culture of magnetotactic spirilla was isolated from the studied community. According to the results of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the isolate was identified as a new Magnetospirillum species.

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are interesting for their ability to produce sizenarrowed and chemically pure magnetic nanoparticles, which are the promising new nanomaterial useful for a number of biotech applications -drug delivery, cell sorting, DNA/RNA extraction, etc.The only difficulty hampering the practical recruitment of bacterial magnetosomes is the low level of their production by bacteria.The ways to get over this problem are discussed in the paper.

A novel, thermophilic filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium, strain isl-2T, was isolated from the Strokkur Geyser, Iceland. Strain isl-2T formed unbranched multicellular filaments with gliding motility. The cells formed no spores and stained Gram-negative. The existence of pili was described in a species of the genus Chloroflexus for the first time, to our knowledge. Optimal growth occurred at a pH range of 7.5-7.7 and at a temperature of 55 °C. Strain isl-2T grew photoheterotrophically under anaerobic conditions in the light and chemoheterotrophically under aerobic conditions in the dark. The major cellular fatty acids were C18 : 1ω9, C16 : 0, C18 : 0 and C18 : 0-OH. The major quinone was menaquinone-10. The photosynthetic pigments were bacteriochlorophylls c and a as well as β- and γ-carotenes. The results of phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences placed strain isl-2T into the genus Chloroflexus of the phylum Chloroflexi with Chloroflexus aggregans DSM 9485T as the closest relative (97.0 % identity). The whole-genome sequence of isl-2T was determined. Average nucleotide identity values obtained for isl-2T in comparison to available genomic sequences of other strains of members of the genus Chloroflexus were 81.4 % or less and digital DNA-DNA hybridisation values 22.8 % or less. The results of additional phylogenetic analysis of the PufLM and BchG amino acid sequences supported the separate position of the isl-2T phylotype from the phylotypes of other members of the genus Chloroflexus. On the basis of physiological and phylogenetic data as well as genomic data, it was suggested that isl-2T represents a novel species within the genus Chloroflexus, with the proposed name Chloroflexus islandicus sp. nov. The type strain of the species is isl-2T (=VKM B-2978T,=DSM 29225T,=JCM 30533T).

We report here the draft genome sequence of the thermophilic filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium Chloroflexus sp. strain isl-2, which was isolated from the Strokkur geyser, Iceland, and contains 5,222,563 bp with a G + C content of 59.65%. The annotated genome sequence offers the genetic basis for understanding the strain's ecological role as a phototrophic bacterium within the bacterial community.

Isolated environments such as hot springs are particularly interesting for studying the microbial biogeography. These environments create an 'island effect' leading to genetic divergence. We studied the phylogeographic pattern of thermophilic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, belonging to the Roseiflexus genus. The main characteristic of the observed pattern was geographic and geochronologic fidelity to the hot springs within Circum-Pacific and Alpine-Himalayan-Indonesian orogenic belts. Mantel test revealed a correlation between genetic divergence and geographic distance among the phylotypes. Cluster analysis revealed a regional differentiation of the global phylogenetic pattern. The phylogeographic pattern is in correlation with geochronologic events during the break up of Pangaea that led to the modern configuration of continents. To our knowledge this is the first geochronological scenario of intercontinental prokaryotic taxon divergence. The existence of the modern phylogeographic pattern contradicts with the existence of the ancient evolutionary history of the Roseiflexus group proposed on the basis of its deep-branching phylogenetic position. These facts indicate that evolutionary rates in Roseiflexus varied over a wide range.

SummaryBiogeochemical, isotope geochemical and microbiological investigation of Lake Svetloe (White Sea basin), a meromictic freshwater was carried out in April 2014, when ice thickness was ∼0.5 m, and the ice‐covered water column contained oxygen to 23 m depth. Below, the anoxic water column contained ferrous iron (up to 240 μμM), manganese (60 μM), sulfide (up to 2 μM) and dissolved methane (960 μM). The highest abundance of microbial cells revealed by epifluorescence microscopy was found in the chemocline (redox zone) at 23–24.5 m. Oxygenic photosynthesis exhibited two peaks: the major one (0.43 μmol C L−1 day−1) below the ice and the minor one in the chemocline zone, where cyanobacteria related to Synechococcus rubescens were detected. The maximum of anoxygenic photosynthesis (0.69 μmol C L−1 day−1) at the oxic/anoxic interface, for which green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium phaeoclathratiforme were probably responsible, exceeded the value for oxygenic photosynthesis. Bacterial sulfate reduction peaked (1.5 μmol S L−1 day−1) below the chemocline zone. The rates of methane oxidation were as high as 1.8 μmol CH4 L−1 day−1 at the oxi/anoxic interface and much lower in the oxic zone. Small phycoerythrin‐containing Synechococcus‐related cyanobacteria were probably involved in accumulation of metal oxides in the redox zone.

We report here the draft genome sequences of two recently isolated magnetotactic species, Magnetospirillum moscoviense BB-1 and Magnetospirillum marisnigri SP-1. The genome of M. moscoviense BB-1 has 4,164,497 bp, 65.2% G+C content, and comprises 207 contigs. The genome of M. marisnigri SP-1 consists of 131 contigs and has a length of 4,619,819 bp and 64.7% G+C content.

Please cite this article in press as: Zharikova, N.V. et al., Isolation and sequence analysis of pCS36-4CPA, a small plasmid from Citrobacter sp. 36-4CPA. Sau nal of Biological Sciences (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.02.014 Natalia V. Zharikova , Timur R. Iasakov *, Boris K. Bumazhkin , Ekaterina O. Patutina , Evgeniia I. Zhurenko , Vladislav V. Korobov , Alina I. Sagitova , Boris B. Kuznetsov , Tatiana V. Markusheva a

The community of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) in the water column of Lake Kislo- Sladkoe (Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea), which has recently become separated from the sea, was investigated in March?April 2012, March?April 2013, and in September 2013. The lake, which was previously considered meromictic, was in fact mixed and was strongly affected by the sea. In winter the lake is sometimes washed off with seawater, and this together with the seasonal cycles of succession processes determines the succession of the community. The consequences of the mixing in autumn 2011 could be observed in the APB community as late as autumn 2013. Green-colored green sulfur bacteria (GSB) usually predominated in the chemocline. In winter 2013 stagnation resulted in turbidity of water under the ice, which was responsible for both predominance of the brown GSB forms and the changes ratio of the species of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) in anoxic water layers. Production of anoxygenic photosynthesis in the lake was at least 240 mg C m-2 day-1 in September and 0–20 mg C m–2 day–1 in March—April, which corresponded to 40 and 69%, respectively, of oxygenic photosynthesis. Okenone-containing purple sulfur bacteria, strain TcakPS12, were isolated in 2012 from lake water. The ells of this strain form filaments of not separated cells. Strain TcakPS12 exhibited 98% similarity with the type strains of Thiocapsa pendens DSM 236 and Thiocapsa bogorovii BBS, as well as with the strains AmPS10 and TcyrPS10, which were isolated from Lake Kislo-Sladkoe in 2010.