The Journal of V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series «Biology»

A hedgehog from Luxembourg: the story of a specimen as evidence of migrations of museum collections between Kharkiv and Kyiv in the 1930s

2023-09-26T17:38:53+00:00

The history of the formation and migration of natural history collections in Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century is considered on the example of a unique specimen – a hedgehog with the label "Luxembourg" collected in 1932, and on the label is written "Museum named after Artem". The study showed that the specimen represents the species Erinaceus roumanicus, collected by the Kharkiv botanist E. Lavrynenko and the zoologist Panchenko, who worked in the south of Ukraine. Information about this specimen was found in one of the old inventory journals (circa 1935) of the Zoological Museum of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, which is now part of the NMNH of Ukraine. The full reconstructed label information is as follows: "Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Polohy Rayon, Azov railway station near the village Luxembourg Ukrainian, 23/05/1932". This locality is situated 15 km away from the Kamyani Mohyly Reserve, which was most likely the destination of the researchers. According to the author’s reconstruction, the specimen was collected at a railway junction (RS Azov is known as "376 km Junction"), that is, at the place of long train stops in anticipation of passing the oncoming traffic, which was likely to have been the practice of the researchers at that time. The label "Museum named after Artem" should be identified as that belonging to the Kharkiv museum named after Artem (there were museums of the same name in Bakhmut and only since 1950 in Luhansk). An analysis of the movements of scientists, the most important of which took place in 1934–1936 in connection with the transfer of the capital of Ukraine from Kharkiv to Kyiv and the reorganization of a number of institutions, shows that this particular and many other collection specimens were transported to academic institutions in Kyiv. The collectors of this specimen are also the authors of mammal specimens from the Kherson (1928) and Kharkiv regions (1932, 1934); in 1934, Lavrenko moved to Kyiv, but there he was known only as a botanist. The analysis of the old inventory books of the NMNH collections and the history of movements of zoologists-collectors shows that the studied specimen, together with hundreds of others, was part of the working collection of O. Mygulin and was transported by him from Kharkiv to Kyiv when he began to work in “Zagotkhutro” in Zavorychy and as a doctoral student at the Zoological Museum of VUAN. Later, this specimen, like hundreds of others, was transferred to the osteological collection of the Department of Palaeozoology of ZooBIN (which was reorganized into the Institute of Zoology in 1939), and finally ended up in the Department of Palaeontology of the NMNH. During 90 years of forced "migration", the specimen changed at least four locations of storage and at least six nominal institutions (two in Kharkiv and four in Kyiv).

Changes in the sensitivity of mammalian erythrocytes to hypertonic shock and cryohemolysis under the pretreatment by phenylhydrazine

2023-09-23T21:51:35+00:00

The effect of pretreating mammalian erythrocytes with phenylhydrazine on their sensitivity to hypertonic shock and hypertonic cryohemolysis was investigated. The results of the experiments showed that the sensitivity of intact mammalian erythrocytes to these stress effects is species-specific. It can be determined by differences in the protein and phospholipid composition of the erythrocytes studied. Human erythrocytes are more sensitive to hypertonic shock at 37 and 0°C, and human and equine erythrocytes are more sensitive to hypertonic cryohemolysis. It was found that under hypertonic shock conditions, the degree of lysis of rabbit erythrocytes at 37°C and 0°C is the same, whereas that of bovine red blood cells is significantly different. Phenylhydrazine treatment alters the sensitivity of erythrocytes to hypertonic shock of some studied mammals and to hypertonic cryohemolysis in all of them. The results showed that under hypertonic shock at 37°C, the sensitivity of human and bovine cells decreases, that of rabbit cells does not change, that of horse cells increases; at 0°C, it increases in all species studied. It should be noted that the sensitivity of horse erythrocytes to hypertonic injury increases significantly (almost twice) at 0 and 37°C, whereas the sensitivity of rabbit erythrocytes does not change at 37°C. Under conditions of hypertonic cryohemolysis, the degree of cell lysis after treatment with phenylhydrazine becomes the same for erythrocytes of all mammalian species studied, i.e. the effect of stress becomes universal and not species-specific. Taking into account the data on the effect of phenylhydrazine only on the protein part of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton-membrane complex, it can be assumed that the protein component of the cytoskeleton is decisive in the response of mammalian erythrocytes to the effect of hypertonic cryohemolysis. As for hypertonic shock, since the species-specificity of the mammalian erythrocyte response to stress is preserved after phenylhydrazine action on membrane proteins, other structures, such as the lipid component of the membrane, could determine the sensitivity of erythrocytes to this type of stress.

Creation of the National Nature Park “Skhidnyi Steppe” as a means of preserving natural ecosystems in Northeastern Ukraine

2023-09-26T19:26:01+00:00

The remnants of natural steppes in Northeastern Ukraine are represented in small areas, interconnected by riverbeds or large, extensive ravines and gullies. The presence of a large number of plant and animal species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine is the basis for granting of national protection status to these territories. The total territory of the prospective National Nature Park (NNP) “Skhidnyi Steppe” includes three clusters: Vovchanskyi, Burlutskyi and Kupyansko-Shevchenkivskyi, its total area is 22272.0 hectares. The future park covers the existing reserves "Vovchansky" and "Siverskodonetsky", the regional landscape park "Velykoburluk Steppe" (4 segments), and several reserves of a small area. In addition to the steppe areas, it is planned to include forests and meadow areas. The flora and fauna of the territory to be protected are of high conservation value: 25 species of vascular plants are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine; 63 species are listed in the Red List of Kharkiv region; 17 species of chalk outcrops and chalk steppes are relics; 49 animal species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine; 100 animal species are listed in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Berne Convention, 27 bird species are included in the lists of Bonn Convention; 33 animal species are in the List of rare species and species requiring protection in the Kharkiv Region. In addition, the proposed park hosts groups of 11 formations included in the Green Book of Ukraine and 16 habitats in need of protection under the Berne Convention. The purpose of the establishment of the National Nature Park “Skhidnyi Steppe” is the protection of unique natural areas in Northeastern Ukraine, namely, the last remnants of steppe and meadow ecosystems and forests in steppe gullies, which are an integral part of the gully steppe macrocomplex. The primary task of the future national park is to protect the grasslands. The next step is the restoration of pasture ecosystems as habitats for rare and endangered steppe species. This paper describes the planned NNP as of early 2022; it does not reflect changes caused by the hostilities that began in February 2022 and continue in the northern part to date.

Phytohormonal balance in leaves of the soft wheat lines isogenic for VRN genes

2023-09-26T17:56:08+00:00

The paper presents results of the study of the phytohormonal balance in mature, formed leaves of the lines of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) of the winter variety Olvia during the transition from vegetative to generative development. Near isogenic for the VRN genes lines (NILs) created in the gene pool of the Olvia variety and plants of the vernalized and non-vernalized winter variety were used. The experiments were carried out under the conditions of a vegetation experiment in the factorial chamber of the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants and Microorganisms of the V.N. Karazin KhNU. During the experiment, we conducted physiological observations and analyzed the development rate of experimental plants. Phytohormone analysis was carried out in fixed plant material by a chromatographic distribution of phytohormone mixture with thin-layer chromatography. The phytohormones were identified by the reference standards irradiating the chromatograms with ultraviolet UV (254 nm), and the content was determined by biotesting methods. The level of main classes of classical growth-stimulating phytohormones (auxins (IAA), cytokinins (CK), and gibberellins (GA), and growth-inhibiting hormones (abscisins (ABA)) was analyzed. The indicators of phytohormonal balance were calculated as the ratio of growth-stimulating and growth-inhibiting hormones. The results of the experiments showed that phytohormones in mature, formed leaves of the experimental plants are represented by auxins – 64.9-70.7 μg/g, cytokinins – 26.6-30.5 μg/g, gibberellins – 179.47-228.68 μg/g, and abscisins – 54.06-89.76 μg/g of dry weight. Among the phytohormone classes studied, the minimal was the cytokinins’ content, while the phytohormones of terpenoid nature (gibberellins and abscisins) were represented best. It has been established that the phytohormonal balance viz. the ratio of growth-stimulating and growth-inhibiting phytohormones reflects the development rate of experimental plants. Rapidly developing plants of isolines VRN 1 and VRN 3, and the plants of vernalized variety were characterized by the maximum phytohormone balance (especially GA/ABA), while the slowly developing plants of the isoline VRN 2 and the non-vernalized variety Olvia had the minimum balance. Since the plant organism is an integrated system of organs and functions, we assume that this indicator – phytohormonal balance in plant leaves, can be used as a marker of the ontogenetic state of the entire plant organism. The identified changes in the phytohormonal status of mature, formed leaves and the development rates of experimental plants have the same regularities in all the models used in our research: the model of isogenic lines and the model of vernalized and non-vernalized plants of the winter variety. This fact makes it possible to assume that changes in the phytohormone balance of mature leaves, which reflect the ontogenetic state of the entire plant organism, are determined by the genotypic and phenotypic (epigenetic) influence.

Influence of genotype and bacterization on growth, development, and soluble carbohydrate content in soybean E-genes isogenic lines

2023-09-26T19:29:35+00:00

Photoperiod, which regulates the duration of vegetative and generative development, and the plant-microorganism interaction, which influences the metabolic status of plant organisms, are important factors in the regulating plant growth and development. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of Glycine max (L.) Merr. genotype and seed pre-bacterization with a virulent and active strain of Bradyrhizobium japonicum 634b on the plant growth and development, and on the soluble carbohydrate content in leaves of isogenic by E-genes lines under field conditions. Nearly isogenic lines (NILs) of soybean, in which the E1, E2, and E3 genes are located at different allelic loci, were used. Sterile seeds were pretreated with distilled water (control) and Bradyrhizobium japonicum 634b cell suspension (experiment). Plants were grown under natural long-day conditions (16 hours). The growth and development of the soybean were evaluated by phenological observations, morphometric indicators fixed at the V3 and V5 developmental stages, relative growth rate (RGR), and the content of soluble sugars ‒ mono- and oligosaccharides. The effect of the factors studied (genotype, bacterization, and their interaction) was calculated. The results of the experiment and the calculation of the effect of the factor showed that the isoline genotype has the greatest effect on seed germination, phenological development of the plant and duration of the VE-R1 phase, growth of the root system in the V3 and V5 phases, and the content of monosaccharides involved in forming the plant-microorganism interaction. The effect of bacterization is most evident in the RGR, shoot development, and the oligosaccharide content of the leaves of NILs in the V3 and V5 phases. Among the isolines studied, L 80-5879, which has the E1 gene (flowering repressor) in a dominant state, was characterized by minimal sensitivity to bacterization. It was found that bacterization and genotype interaction didn't influence the VE-R1 duration stage and the shoot and root length. The results obtained therefore prove that the E-series genes, which determine the photoperiodic sensitivity of soya beans, can also be indirectly involved in establishing plant-microorganism interactions.

Author guidelines

2023-09-26T18:07:49+00:00

Author guidelines