The purpose of the research is to establish the prevalence of vector-borne diseases in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya tundra.Materials and methods. The research was carried out in 2022–2023 on domesticated reindeer living in the Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya tundra of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic. Stabilized blood was obtained from animals by random sampling and PCR studies were performed for the presence of genetic material of pathogens of the genera Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria.Results and discussion. The DNA of the causative agent of anaplasmosis was isolated from 14.3% of reindeer from Malozemelskaya (family-tribal community «Vy Tu» (VTU) and «Opseda» (OPS)) and 30.6% of Bolshezemelskaya tundra (Аgricultural production cooperative «Harp» (HARP) and Collective Farm «Izhemsky olenevod and Co» (IZHM)). To a greater extent, vazhenki and calves were infected with anaplasmosis, to a lesser extent – choirs. Genetic material of Babesia pathogens was found in 53.1% of VTU and OPS deer and 36.7% of HARP and IZHM, while babesiosis was most often observed in the chorus group. Teileriosis was found in 10.2% and 4.1% of animal samples among the herds of the Malozemelskaya and Bolshezemelskaya tundra, respectively. The genetic material of the causative agent of teileriosis was isolated mainly from the blood obtained from calves. The causative agent of theileriosis was not found in the biological material of the choirs. The presence of DNA Anaplasma spp. and Babesia spp. in one sample, the proportion of deer from Malozemelskaya tundra herds was 2.4%, from Bolshezemelskaya – 26.5%. The combined course of babesiosis and teileriosis was found to be 8.2% only in VTU and OPS deer. Thus, studies have shown that vector-borne diseases is widespread among the reindeer of the studied farms of the Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya tundra.

Vector-borne diseases pose a serious threat to the sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing of a person. As a rule, the source of pathogens of this group of diseases is considered to be carrier animals that can keep the pathogen in their body for life. Changing climate conditions lead to changes in the habitat of insect vectors, which inevitably leads to the expansion of the geographical boundaries of vector-borne infections. The aim of the work is to study the prevalence of anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis among reindeer of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The material for the research was stabilized EDTA venous blood from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) of the Nenets breed. The diagnosis was established by PCR. It has been proved that the infection of reindeer with anaplasmosis averages 14.3%, while vazhenki have the greatest extent of invasion – 21.4%, while males and calves are less affected by the pathogen (9.1% and 12.5%, respectively). Infection of animals with ehrlichiosis turned out to be more significant: DNA of ehrlichiae was present in 44.9% of samples, while the infection of vazhenok was 57.1%, calves – 37.5%, choirs – 45.5%. The morphological composition of the blood of healthy and infected reindeer had no significant differences in a number of indicators, which indicates a latent chronic course of the disease. Thus, the results of the work indicate that anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are widespread among reindeer living on the territory of the Low-Earth tundra, which serve as a natural reservoir for these pathogens.

The reindeer's rumen microbiota plays an important role in the digestion of feed with enzymes produced by rumen microsymbiotes. In this regard, the study of reindeer adaptations, the possibility of effective use plant feed resources of the Arctic are of wide interest. This study presents for the first time the results of the assessment of the population structure of the microbial communities of the Rangifer tarandus rumen in the winter period according to high-throughput sequencing data. A special feature of the reindeer ration in the winter-spring period is the high proportion of lichens in the diet (up to 70%) as compared with the summer-autumn (no more than 10-15%). Samples of the rumen content were collected in the winter-spring period in 2018 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District from calves (6-8 months, n = 3), young (1-2 years, n = 3) and adults (3-6 years, n = 6) reindeer of the Nenets breed. The composition of the bacterial community of the reindeer rumen was analyzed in the laboratory of the company BIOTROF + by the method of NGS sequencing (next-generation sequencing). The results showed that representatives of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes occupied a dominant position in microbial communities like in other ruminants. The total content of this bacteria in animals of different age groups was not significantly different. The composition of the microbiota in calves was presented with a higher content of cellulolytic microorganisms of the genera Ruminococcus, Buturivibrio, Coprococcus compared with young and adults (p <0.05). The share of acid-utilizing bacteria of the genera Succiniclasticum and Selenomonas in calves was lower compared with young and adult individuals (p <0.05). The taxonomic analysis for the composition of microbial communities is confirmed by the results of biodiversity assessment using environmental indices. According to the results of assessment of α and β-diversity of the microbial communities of the rumen, the greatest uniqueness was found for the microbiomes of adults in comparison with calves and young. In general, the obtained results confirm the opinion of researchers that the microbial community can reflect the physiological state of animals.

To study the genetic differentiation and phylogeny of the breeds and populations of reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus L.), a test system based on multiplex PCR analysis of 16 highly polymorphic STR markers (Rt6, BMS1788, Rt30, Rt1, Rt9, FCB193, Rt7, BMS745, С143, Rt24, OheQ, С217, С32, NVHRT16, T40 and C276) was developed. Using this test system, 397 animals from 11 samples were studied. Four of these samples belonged to the wild forms of reindeer, while the rest of the samples represented the Nenets, Even, and Evenk breeds reared in different climatic zones of the Russian Federation. For 16 microsatellite loci, 204 alleles were identified, some of which could be considered breed-specific. It was demonstrated that more than 70% of the unique allele pool was concentrated in wild populations of reindeer. Statistical analysis of microsatellite data showed that the developed test system was an effective tool for identifying domesticated and wild forms of reindeer, testing the breed assignment, and determining the migration flows of a species over the vast territory of its distribution.

КРАНИОЛОгИЧЕСКАя хАРАКТЕРИСТИКА СЕВЕРНых ОЛЕНЕЙ (RANgifeR tARANDuS) НЕНЕЦКОЙ ПОРОДы ТИМАНСКОЙ И БОЛьШЕзЕМЕЛьСКОЙ ТУНДР НЕНЕЦКОгО АО Романенко Т.М., Вылко Ю

Nucleotide sequences of the prion protein gene PRNP have been obtained in order to assess potential genetic predisposition to the deadly prion chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three regional groups of wild reindeer and two regional groups of domesticated reindeer Rangifer tarandus in the northern European part of Russia. We report identification of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms corresponding to the substitutions in six codons of the prion protein PrP, namely 2(V/M), 129(G/S), 138(S/N), 169(V/M), 176(N/D), and 225(S/Y). Six alleles of the PrP protein have been described. The genotypes with asparagine (N) in codon 138 (138NN and 138SN), which are associated with higher resistance to CWD, were detected in 8.7, 14.3, and 18.2% of animals in the wild reindeer groups from Novaya Zemlya, Kola Peninsula, and the forest regions of Arkhangelsk oblast and the Komi Republic. It has been found that the frequency of these genotypes in domesticated reindeers from the Komi Republic and Kolguev Island was higher, 37.5 and 42.1%, respectively. It has been noted that due to the predominance of PrP genotypes with serine in codon 138 (138SS), which are associated with increased susceptibility to CWD, and the detection of this disease in reindeer, moose, and red deer in Scandinavia, there exists a real danger that CWD will spread among the reindeer inhabiting the European part of Russia.

in Nenets (KAN, ILB, IND, TAB, HRP, PIL, IZH, SEV) and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Districts, the Komi Republic (INT), Murmansk (MUR) and Ar-khangelsk (ARH) regions, as well as from the Taimyr municipal district (TUH, DUD). Polymorphism in 14 STR markers, including NVHRT21, NVHRT24, NVHRT76, RT1, RT6, RT7, RT9, RT27, RT30, RT25, RT13, NV03, RT5 and NV73, was studied with the genetic analyzer ABI3130xl. Data processing was performed using software GenAIEx 6.501, GENETIX 4.05 and R package “diveRsity”. Neighbor Net graph on pairwise values of Nei’s genetic distances created with SplitsTree 4.14.5 In the populations, the average number of alleles per locus (Na) ranges from 9.71 INT to 6.07 in DUD. The effective number of alleles (Ne) is minimal in the groups DUD and KAN (Ne≤3.63) and the maximum in PIL, IZN, INT, SEV, and MUR (Ne≥4.55). The number of informative alleles increases from 4.42 in KAN to 5.57 in INT and TAB. Private alleles are found in the INT, MUR, TAB, and TUH groups. In 14 populations, observed heterozygosity (Ho) varies from 0.604 (DUD) to 0.693 (TAB) and 0.695 (IZM). The allelic richness (Ar) ranges from 5.727 in KAN to 7.070 in INT. A heterozygote in all study. analysis of Neighbor of NAO groups SEY, INT ARH, groups DUD TUH are Nenets territory, with F st from 0.058 between KAN and IND to 0.083 between KAN and INT, which is indirectly indicated by the lowest level of genetic diver- sity (Ho = 0.539; Ar = 5.727). Thus, our present study provides the most complete data on the status of the allele pool and level of biodiversity of the Nenets reindeer breed.

ins. In the present work, we are the first to estimate the content of mycotoxins for the components of summer reindeer rations, i.e. Salix borealis , Vaccinium uliginosum, Betula nana , and B . pendula . The aim of the study was to analyze the distribution of mycotoxins in the components of the summer diet of reindeer. Samples of genera Cladonia and Nephroma lichens, higher plants of the species Salix borealis , Vaccinium uliginosum , Betula nana , B . pendula , and mixtures of perennial grasses were collected in early August 2017 in the pastures of the Harp town of the Yamalo-Nenets Auton- omous District, the Nelmin-Nos town of Nenets Autonomous District and the Pushnoy town of the Murmansk region. Aflatoxins (AFLA), ochratoxin A (OTA), T-2 toxin (T-2), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) were detected and measured in the samples using ELISA test. During the mycotoxicological evaluation of the summer food ration components of reindeer, we found multiple contaminations with the mycotoxins. The samples of Embryophyta representatives revealed a greater number of toxic metabolites compared to samples of the genera Cladonia and Nephroma lichens. Practically, in all samples of higher plants, the presence of mycotoxins T-2, ZEN and DON produced by Fusarium pathogens which affects plants during vegetation, as well as AFLA and OTA metabolites of micromycetes Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. which previously were considered not adapted for growth and reproduction in plant tissues during the growing season. However, AFLA and OTA were the least represented on virtually all samples. It is of interest that OTA was not detected in any of the lichen samples assayed. In most of the samples, DON Fusarium tox- ins dominated with accumulation in lichens up to 0.15 mg/kg and in Embryophyta samples up to 33.8 mg/kg, as well as ZEN at the amount up to 0.1227 mg/kg and 2.543 mg/kg, in concentrations that may pose a threat to animal health. T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol. Our findings indicate that the problem of contamination of higher plants by mycotoxins is much more acute com-784

Nenets breed is the most numerous indigenous breed of domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Due to their biological versatility, the breed’s representatives easily adapt to new pastures. The breeding zone covers the territory from the Kola Peninsula in the west to Taimyr in the east. However, there is still no information on the genetic structure of the Nenets domestic reindeer breed. This paper is the first to present data on STR markers of reindeer of the Nenets breed from the Russian regional populations, the breeding zone of which almost completely covers the current range of the breed. The aim of our work was to characterize the allele pool of domestic reindeer of the Nenets breed, which originate from different regional populations. The sample included 787 specimens from 15 Nenets populations collected in Nenets (KAN, ILB, IND, TAB, HRP, PIL, IZH, SEV) and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Districts, the Komi Republic (INT), Murmansk (MUR) and Arkhangelsk (ARH) regions, as well as from the Taimyr municipal district (TUH, DUD). Polymorphism in 14 STR markers, including NVHRT21, NVHRT24, NVHRT76, RT1, RT6, RT7, RT9, RT27, RT30, RT25, RT13, NV03, RT5 and NV73, was studied with the genetic analyzer ABI3130xl. Data processing was performed using software GenAIEx 6.501, GENETIX 4.05 and R package “diveRsity”. The Neighbor Net graph based on pairwise values of Nei’s genetic distances was created with SplitsTree 4.14.5 software. In the studied populations, the average number of alleles per locus (Na) ranges from 9.71 in INT to 6.07 in DUD. The effective number of alleles (Ne) is minimal in the groups DUD and KAN (Ne≤3.63) and the maximum in PIL, IZN, INT, SEV, and MUR (Ne≥4.55). The number of informative alleles increases from 4.42 in KAN to 5.57 in INT and TAB. Private alleles are found in the INT, MUR, TAB, and TUH groups. In 14 populations, observed heterozygosity (Ho) varies from 0.604 (DUD) to 0.693 (TAB) and 0.695 (IZM). The allelic richness (Ar) ranges from 5.727 in KAN to 7.070 in INT. A heterozygote deficiency was detected in all populations under study. The analysis of Neighbor Net graph showed that the populations of NAO (except KAN) are clustered together with the groups SEY, INT and ARH, the grazing and migratory areas of which are located in the NAO. The Taimyr groups DUD and TUH are separated from the other populations of the Nenets reindeer. The KAN differs from the other populations of the NAO territory, with Fst from 0.058 between KAN and IND to 0.083 between KAN and INT, which is indirectly indicated by the lowest level of genetic diversity (Ho = 0.539; Ar = 5.727). Thus, our present study provides the most complete data on the status of the allele pool and level of biodiversity of the Nenets reindeer breed.

Совместное существование домашней и дикой форм северного оленя ( Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) важная особенность вида. Обе формы обитают в условиях, которые остаются практически неизменными очень продолжительное время. Установлено, что между домашней и дикой популяциями происходит обмен генами, приводящий к смешению их генофонда. Наряду с эволюционными факторами (дрейф генов, мутации, естественный отбор) на изменение генофонда популяции влияет миграционный процесс. В настоящей работе на основе анализа микросателлитов дана характеристика биоразнообразия двух самых многочисленных популяций северного оленя: домашних оленей ненецкой породы и дикой популяции, обитающей на территории Ненецкого (НАО) и Таймырского (ТАО) автономных округов, а также оценена степень интрогрессии этих популяций. Материалом для исследований служили пробы ткани 178 северных оленей. Биоматериал от животных ненецкой породы домашних оленей (DOM, n = 115, 4 субпопуляции) был взят на сельхозпредприятиях НАО и в оленеводческих бригадах на территории ТАО. Материал от оленей дикой таймырской популяции (WLD, n = 63, 5 субпопуляций) собирали в разных регионах ТАО. Геномную ДНК выделяли с использованием колонок фирмы Nexttec («Nexttec Biotechnologie GmbH», Германия). Полиморфизм 9 STR-локусов (NVHRT21, NVHRT24, NVHRT76, RT1, RT6, RT7, RT9, RT27, RT30) определяли по ранее разработанной методике на ДНК-анализаторе ABI3130xl («Applied Biosystems», США). Для оценки аллелофонда каждой популяции рассчитывали среднее число аллелей (Na) и эффективное число аллелей (Ne) на локус, аллельное разнообразие, вычисленное с применением процедуры рарификации (Ar), число приватных аллелей на локус (PrAr), наблюдаемую (Ho) и ожидаемую (He) гетерозиготность, коэффициент инбридинга (FIS). Степень генетической дифференциации популяций оценивали на основании попарных значений FST и генетических дистанций по M. Nei. На основе частот аллелей микросателлитов рассчитывали показатели миграции генов между популяциями. Распределение общей генетической изменчивости между популяциями и в их пределах изучали методом AMOVA (анализ молекулярной дисперсии). Олени дикой популяции характеризовались бoльшим генетическим разнообразием по сравнению с домашними: среднее число аллелей на локус 10,00±0,78 против 8,44±0,80, наблюдаемая гетерозиготность 0,633±0,060 против 0,589±0,049. Показано формирование двух независимых кластеров, соответствующих дикой и домашней популяциям, с высокими значениями членства в собственных кластерах: QWLD = 0,940±0,013 и QDOM = 0,938±0,010. При этом были выявлены несколько особей (4,4-4,8 %), имеющих смешанное генетическое происхождение. Степень взаимной интрогрессии популяций составляла около 6 %. Кластерный анализ генетической структуры отдельно дикой и домашней популяций не выявил четкой кластеризации, что указывало на однородность генетической структуры внутри изучаемых популяций. Разложение общей генетической изменчивости с использованием AMOVA показало, что большая часть разнообразия приходилась на изменчивость внутри популяций (95,40 %, p < 0,001). Анализ главных компонент (PCA) выявил четкую дифференциацию домашней и дикой популяций по оси 1 при их незначительном перекрывании, при этом главная компонента 1 обусловливала 5,15 % изменчивости. Показана относительно более высокая степень генетической дифференциации субпопуляций внутри дикой популяции северного оленя по сравнению с домашней (максимальные значения FST и DN составили соответственно 0,046 против 0,023 и 0,353 против 0,151). Полученные нами данные будут использованы для разработки программ селекционно-племенной работы с ненецкой породой домашних северных оленей, а также организации мероприятий по охране и рациональному использованию биологических ресурсов диких северных оленей.

tions along the axis 1 with their slight overlapping; herewith the principal component 1 was responsible for 5.15 % of variability.Evaluation of differentiation degree between subpopulations of rein deer, performed by calculation of the pairwise values of F ST and Nei's genetic distances (DN) showed relatively higher degree of genetic differentiation between subpopulations within wild population comparing to domestic population (maximal F ST and DN values were 0.046 vs 0.023 and 0.353 vs 0.151, respectively).The obtained results of genetic diversity and population structure of reindeer will be used to develop the breeding program with Nenets breed of domestic rein deer and to organize the measures for protection and sustainable use of wild reindeer bioresources.

of the development of multiplex panel of STR markers and of its to assign the and to study biodiversity of popu- lations. biological used tissue samples (part of ear’s lobes) of reindeer of Even (EVN, n = 44), Evenk (EVK, n = 44), Nenets ( n = 45) breeds and Tyva population (TUV, n = 35). DNA extraction was performed using Nexttec columns (Germany) according to the manu-facturer’s instructions. Polymorphism of nine STR markers (NVHRT76, RT9, NVHRT24, RT30, RT1, RT6, RT27, NVHRT21 and RT7) was determined by own procedures using ABI 3130xl DNA Statistical analysis was performed in MS Excel 2007 with the plugin GenAIEx v. 6.5, software MSA 4.05, PHYLIP, v. 3.5c, Treev32 and Structure, v. 2.3.4. The studied populations of reindeer were characterized by relatively high levels of genetic diversity. The average number of alleles per locus was 6.11±0.56 in TUV, 6.67±0.50 in NEN, 8.00±0.76 in EVN and 8.89±0.65 in EVK. The smallest effective number of alleles per locus was detected in TUV (3.37±0.47), the maximal value was in EVK (4.89±0.46 alleles per locus), and EVN and NEN occu-pied an intermediate position (4.42±0.53 and 3.90±0.38, respectively). The number of alleles in sin- gle loci ranged from four in NVHRT21 and NVHRT24 for TUV to twelve in RT7 for EVK and RT1 for EVN. The probability of matching genotypes (PI) for the nine loci ranged from 1.84½10 -9 in NEN to 5.9½10 -11 in EVK, showing the high power of the proposed marker panel for parentage identification. The calculation of the mean values of similarity coefficient Q in the i th cluster with the most probable number of clusters such as k = 3 and k = 4 (Q i/k ) revealed high heterogeneity of genetic structure of studied populations. The highest degree of genetic differentiation was shown for TUV (Q 2/3 = 0.899±0.034, Q 3/4 = 0.883±0.035) and for NEN (Q 3/3 = 0.885±0.031, Q 4/4 = 0.813±0.038). The EVN and EVK population were close to each other, and a clear clustering between them was not observed. An estimation of R st (AMOVA) showed that 11.4 % of the total molecular variability was caused by differences between populations, and 88.6 % was due to individual differences between animals (p < 0.01). Evaluation of degree of genetic differentiation of studied populations, using as criteria the values of Nei’ genetic distances and pairwise comparisons of F st showed similar trends. TUV population was the most distinct comparing to other populations (D Nei = 0,283-0,502, F st = 0,299-0,452), while it was the most differ from NEN and the closest to EVN. The minimal genetic differences were observed between EVN and EVK (D Nei = 0,068, F st = 0,032). The results show high functional power of the de- veloped STR panel to identify the parentage and to study biodiversity in Russian reindeer populations.