The development of methods of genetic engineering of plants poses in modern society the question of the safety of transgenic plants. Transformation of plants has been criticized as artificial process performed only in the laboratory. At the same time there is evidence that some members of the genus Nicotiana and Linaria contain sequences homologous to the T-DNA of Agrobacterium rhizogenes in their genomes. The question: whether there are other examples of horizontal gene transfer from Agrobacterium to the plant among the representatives of the family. Solanaceae, is still actual. We performed screening of representatives of four genera of the family Solanaceae for the presence of sequences homologous to oncogeniclike genes rolB, rolC, ORF13, ORF14. New examples of horizontal gene transfer were not detected. Apparently, the presence of sequences homologous to oncogenes of A. rhizogenes in the genome of nontransformed plants is not common to the whole family Solanaceae and is characteristic only of the some species of the genus Nicotiana.

One of the most interesting findings in Systems biology is the discovery of negative correlation between gene expression levels and evolutionary rates of genes. Biological explanations of this correlation are still debated. Recently the hypothesis of Drummond and Wilke became increasingly popular. The hypothesis suggests that errors of translation with subsequent misfolding of proteins are the universal factor limiting the rate of protein evolution because this misfolding causes premature cell death. The mitochondrial somatic mutations are the promising tool to examine this hypothesis: damaging mutations in a gene cannot cause the complete lack of the corresponding protein product because animal mitochondria contain many copies of chromosomes (5–15 copies per mitochondria) in somatic tissues. We analyzed somatic mutations in the mitochondrial cytb gene from hippocampus of Wistar rats. We did not find any indication of purifying selection in the cytb gene. Absence of selection does not support the Drummond-Wilke hypothesis which postulates strong purifying selection eliminating errors that cause protein misfolding. This result questions applicability of the Drummond-Wilke hypothesis to mitochodrial proteins.

Helminthes accompany human beings from the early period of the formation, there is a long-term coevolution between parasite and human, helminthes represent a major selective force for human immune genes. Data on genetic control of the intensity and clinical traits of helminthinfection in different populations, including results obtained by whole-genome studies are presented and concept of common genes of susceptibility to helminth infection and allergic diseases are discussed.

Вy PCR-RFLP procedures in groups of children of the Northwest region of Russia we investigated associations of some variants of CYP2J2, CYP4A11 and PTGIS genes participating in a metabolism of arachidonic acid and variants of CDH13, MTHFR, CDKN2BAS genes, and also an extra gene molecular marker rs11191548 T/C revealed on the basis of the GWAS method as candidates of risk of arterial hypertension, with development of a hypertension. The association of these markers with development of a hypertension in children didn't prove to be true.

The relationship between vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) variants with serum 25-OHD3 concentration, body height (BH), body weight (BW), and body composition were examined in Komi ethnic group. The FF genotype associates with higher BW (p=0.002), and lower bone mass (BM, p=0.06) in comparison with the Ff subjects. The BB carriers are shorter than those with Bb genotype (p=0.037); BM is lower among having bb than Bb variants (p=0.025). There were no differences in 25-OHD3 content revealed. The results are consistent with the data obtained in populations from North-Western Europe, but not in tropical and subtropical Caucasians, or in non-Caucasian groups.

Effects of the LIG4 gene polymorphisms rs1805388 (Thr9Ile) and rs1805389 (Ala3Val) on the level of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes have been estimated in children, that live and study in conditions of normal and excessive exposure to radon in several localitions of the Kemerovo region. There was no statistically significant difference between genotypic groups on the marker rs1805388 with regard to frequencies of cytogenetic indexes. At the same time, in the group of Val carriers (marker rs1805389) from second cohort our analysis revealed significant increase in the amount of paired fragments in comparison with homozygotes Ala/Ala.

The examples of various members of the animal and plant species shows a possible role of population variability in the number and morphological types of B-chromosomes in plasticity of the species.

Chitooligosaccharides find wide application that determines considerable interest in their use. Enzymatic synthesis of hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose and penta-N-acetylchitopentaose using N-acetyl-glucoseaminyl transferase enzyme possessing unique features from rhizobial bacteria Rhizobium sp. GRH2 and M. loti has been performed in E. coli cells. Cultivation of bacteria E. coli expressing the appropriate recombinant enzyme resulted in synthesis of significant amounts of desired chitooligosaccharides (milligrams per liter). Analysis of synthesized chitooligosacchairdes by methods of high performance liquid chromatography and mass-spectrometry confirmed the conformity of the synthesized compounds to standards.

Examples of horizontal gene transfer involving nuclear genomes of plants are rare. Currently, only two examples were detected in certain species of tobaccos and toadflax. The paper firstly describes the genomic sequence of Linaria dalmatica (L.) P. Mill. 94% similar to that Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolC gene. A possible role of rolC gene and T-DNA in the evolution of Linaria as well as their potential role in the origin of plant species are argued.