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Vol 49, No 3 (2018)

Reviews

Comparative Analysis of Embryonic Inversion in Algae of the Genus Volvox (Volvocales, Chlorophyta)

Desnitskiy A.G.

Abstract

Recent literary data on inversion (turning inside out) in the embryos of flagellated algae of the genus Volvox are critically analyzed. In this process, active changes in the shape of embryonic cells and the displacement of intercellular cytoplasmic bridges play an important role. After inversion, the flagella appear on the outer side of the young colony and provide its motility. Within the genus Volvox, two main modes of embryo inversion have been recently established during the asexual developmental cycle—inversion of type A and inversion of type B—represented by the two species most thoroughly studied, respectively, Volvox carterif. nagariensis and V. globator. However, the published opinion that the inversion of V. aureus embryos is of the type B seems to be doubtful. Comparative and evolutionary aspects of embryonic inversion in Volvox are discussed with the use of data on other genera of colonial volvocine algae.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):129-133
pages 129-133 views

Trachylina: The Group That Remains Enigmatic Despite 150 Years of Investigations

Osadchenko B.V., Kraus Y.A.

Abstract

Trachylina is a group of cnidarians, a subclass of Hydrozoa. Despite the low species diversity of this group, its representatives are characterized by diversity of life cycles. Trachylina have populated various environments, from deep ocean to fresh water ecosystems. Polyps of Trachylina are either very small or absent in the life cycle, which distinguishes this group from the majority of other Hydrozoa. Trachylina are also highly diverse and have a number of features that are unusual for cnidarians. A number of representatives of this group are characterized by a small number of cells at the embryonic and larval stages. This phenomenon is well known for the representatives of phylogenetically distant taxa—Nematoda and Chordata (Tunicata). In addition, the development of Trachylina is characterized by a number of evolutionary changes that, apparently, make it possible to accelerate the formation of the definitive stage (medusa). Paradoxically, there is no one species among the representatives of this group that is studied in more or less detail. The purpose of our review is to summarize the scanty information on the Trachylina ontogeny and to demonstrate the importance of studying the ontogeny of this group for understanding the general rules of the evolution of development and life cycles of Metazoa.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):134-145
pages 134-145 views

Microfluidics Approaches in Modern Developmental Biology

Spirov A.V.

Abstract

Modern automated microsystems based on microhydrodynamic (microfluidic) technologies— labs on chips—make it possible to solve various basic and applied research problems. In the last 15 years, the development of these approaches in application to the problems of modern quantitative (systems) development biology has been observed. In this field, high-throughput experiments aimed at accumulating ample quantitative data for their subsequent computer analysis are important. In this review, the main directions in the development and application of microfluidics approaches for solving problems of modern developmental biology using the classical model object, Drosophila embryo, as an example is discussed. Microfluidic systems provide an opportunity to perform experiments that can hardly be performed using other approaches. These systems allow automated, rapid, reliable, and proper placing of many live embryos on a substrate for their simultaneous confocal scanning, sorting them, or injecting them with various agents. Such systems make it possible, in particular, to create controlled gradients of microenvironmental parameters along a series of developing embryos or even to introduce discontinuity in parameters within the microenvironment of one embryo, so that the head half is under other conditions compared to the tail half (at continuous scanning). These approaches are used both in basic research of the functions of gene ensembles that control early development, including the problems of resistance of early patterns to disturbances, and in test systems for screening chemical agents on developing embryos. The problems of integration of microfluidic devices in systems for automated performance of experiments simultaneously on many developing embryos under conditions of their continuous scanning using modern fluorescence microscopy instruments will be discussed. The methods and approaches developed for Drosophila are also applicable to other model objects, even mammalian embryos.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):146-158
pages 146-158 views

Plant Developmental Biology

Migration of DNA-Containing Organelles between Tobacco Microsporocytes during Cytomixis

Mursalimov S.R., Sidorchuk Y.V., Zagorskaya A.A., Deineko E.V.

Abstract

Ultrastructural analysis of intercellular migration of DNA-containing organelles (nuclei, mitochondria, and plastids) in tobacco microsporogenesis during cytomixis was conducted. It was demonstrated for the first time that the migrating part of the nucleus is covered with ribosomes and can contain the accumulation of nuclear pores. The possibility of mitochondrial migration between the plant cells was proven for the first time. It was demonstrated that mitochondria extremely rarely pass into neighboring cells, and their movement occurs through one cytomictic channel. In turn, plastids can generate the accumulations around cytomictic channels and actively migrate between the cells, even through small size cytomictic channels. It was established that plastids can pass into another cell through one or several cytomictic channels, and several plastids can also simultaneously migrate through one channel. The consequences of migration of DNA-containing organelles in the cells producing the pollen are discussed.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):159-165
pages 159-165 views

Ontogenesis and Ecology

Effect of Silver Ions on Copper Metabolism during Mammalian Ontogenesis

Ilyechova E.Y., Puchkova L.V., Shavlovskii M.M., Korzhevskii D.E., Petrova E.S., Tsymbalenko N.V.

Abstract

Copper metabolism was studied in laboratory rats that received silver ions with food (Ag diet) from birth for 5, 20, 40, and 180 days. Parameters of the copper status in the blood serum were determined, and data on the distribution of silver ions in the body were obtained. A comparative histological analysis of brain, liver, kidney, and spleen sections of adult rats kept on the Ag diet for 30 or 180 days was performed. Copper and silver content, expression levels of the genes of copper transport proteins, and the activity of copper enzymes were determined in the cells of the liver, the central organ responsible for copper metabolism in mammals. In adult rats kept on the Ag diet for 30 days, copper status parameters dropped to near-zero values. In contrast, these parameters were decreased only twofold in rats that had been kept on the Ag diet for 6 months from birth. At the same time, the expression of genes involved in copper homeostatis was downregulated. The expression of genes that encode copper enzymes was unchanged. The activity of ceruloplasmin, the main copper-containing protein of the blood, was decreased, while the activity of SOD1, a cellular copper enzyme, was unchanged. The pathways by which silver can interfere with copper metabolism and the mechanisms that compensate these effects are discussed. The data obtained may help assess the potential consequences of growing environmental exposure to silver due to increasing use of silver nanoparticles in different areas of human activity.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):166-178
pages 166-178 views

Morphogenesis

Glutamine Synthetase-Containing Cells of the Dorsal Root Ganglion at Different Stages of Rat Ontogeny

Kolos E.A., Korzhevskii D.E.

Abstract

In the present study, formation, location, and morphological features of glutamine synthetaseimmunopositive cells of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) at different stages of prenatal and postnatal development of the rat was examined. It was demonstrated that small differentiating satellite cells containing glutamine synthetase were observed in the DRG close to sensory neurons on embryonic day 18. On embryonic day 19, the forming immunopositive glial cells were located around developing neurons of the DRG in accordance with topography, which is observed in newborn and adult animals. The averaged number of satellite cells per sensory neuron in mature and aging rats was calculated and it was found that this index did not change during aging.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):179-183
pages 179-183 views

Short Communications

Expression of Components of the Serotonergic System in Folliculogenesis and Preimplantation Development in Mice

Nikishin D.A., Khramova Y.V., Bagayeva T.S., Semenova M.L., Shmukler Y.B.

Abstract

The functions of serotonin include the growth and development regulation of female germ cells as well as early embryo development. RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression of the genes of the enzymes for synthesis and degradation and transporters and receptors of serotonin during folliculogenesis and preimplantation development of mice was performed to discover the particular mechanisms of these functions. The mRNA of tryptophan hydroxylase tph1 and monoaminoxidase maoa; membrane transporter sert and vesicular transporter vmat2; and serotonin receptors htr1b, htr1d, htr2a, htr5b, and htr7 were revealed in granulosa cells. The expression of mRNA of the aromatic amino acid decarboxylase ddc and the htr2b receptor additionally appears in the yellow body. The expression of mRNA of the genes of the tph2, ddc, and maoa enzymes; the sert, vmat1, and vmat2 transporters; and quite a number of receptors is observed during the preimplantation development, and it is transitory in most of them. The expression of all components and its dynamics suggest that the serotonergic signaling system is functionally active in mouse folliculogenesis and preimplantation development.

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 2018;49(3):184-192
pages 184-192 views