Microbial diversity of hot springs of the Kuril Islands.

The Kuril Islands are located in the Far-East of Russia and enriched with shallow and terrestrial hot springs. Prokaryotic diversity of Kuril geothermal environments has been studied fragmentarily and mainly by culture-dependent methods. We performed the first large-scale investigation of microbial communities, inhabited more than 30 terrestrial hot springs of Kunashir and Iturup Islands, analyzed by 16S rRNA gene fragment amplicon sequencing, together with chemical analysis of thermal waters and sediments.

WES-based screening of 7,000 newborns: A pilot study in Russia.

The effective implementation of whole-exome sequencing- and whole-genome sequencing-based diagnostics in the management of children affected with genetic diseases and the rapid decrease in the cost of next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables the expansion of this method to newborn genetic screening programs. Such NGS-based screening greatly increases the number of diseases that can be detected compared to conventional newborn screening, as the latter is aimed at early detection of a limited number of inborn diseases. Moreover, genetic testing provides new possibilities for family members of the proband, as many variants responsible for adult-onset conditions are inherited from the parents.

Environmental activity-based protein profiling for function-driven enzyme discovery from natural communities.

Background: Microbial communities are important drivers of global biogeochemical cycles, xenobiotic detoxification, as well as organic matter decomposition. Their major metabolic role in ecosystem functioning is ensured by a unique set of enzymes, providing a tremendous yet mostly hidden enzymatic potential. Exploring this enzymatic repertoire is therefore not only relevant for a better understanding of how microorganisms function in their natural environment, and thus for ecological research, but further turns microbial communities, in particular from extreme habitats, into a valuable resource for the discovery of novel enzymes with potential applications in biotechnology.

Bone collagen tensile properties of the aging human proximal femur.

Despite the dominant role of bone mass in osteoporotic fractures, aging bone tissue properties must be thoroughly understood to improve osteoporosis management. In this context, collagen content and integrity are considered important factors, although limited research has been conducted on the tensile behavior of demineralized compact bone in relation to its porosity and elastic properties in the native mineralized state. Therefore, this study aims (i) at examining the age-dependency of mineralized bone and collagen micromechanical properties; (ii) to test whether, and if so to which extent, collagen properties contribute to mineralized bone mechanical properties.

Metagenomic Insights into the Taxonomic and Functional Features of Traditional Fermented Milk Products from Russia.

Fermented milk products (FMPs) contain probiotics that are live bacteria considered to be beneficial to human health due to the production of various bioactive molecules. In this study, nine artisanal FMPs (kefir, ayran, khurunga, shubat, two cottage cheeses, bryndza, khuruud and suluguni-like cheese) from different regions of Russia were characterized using metagenomics. A metagenomic sequencing of ayran, khurunga, shubat, khuruud and suluguni-like cheese was performed for the first time.