Oleksandr ZinenkoV. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University · Museum of Nature
Oleksandr Zinenko
PhD
Trying to continue research and teaching in spite of russian aggression.
About
91
Publications
48,814
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
994
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
February 2015 - March 2021
Position
- Professor (Associate)
Description
- Practicals and laboratory classes in Medical Biology I (Parasitology) Molecular evolution Applied biology Methods in field zoology
January 2014 - December 2014
October 2009 - December 2011
Staatlische Naturhistorisches Museum Braunschweig
Position
- visited scientist
Publications
Publications (91)
Despite decades of molecular research, phylogenetic relationships in Palearctic vipers (genus Vipera) still essentially rely on a few loci, such as mitochondrial barcoding genes. Here we examined the diversity and evolution of Vipera with ddRAD-seq data from 33 representative species and subspecies. Phylogenomic analyses of ∼ 1.1 Mb recovered nine...
The article is about the effects that war has on local populations of herpetofauna in Ukraine.
Infectious diseases are influenced by interactions between host and pathogen, and the number of infected hosts is rarely homogenous across the landscape. Areas with elevated pathogen prevalence can maintain a high force of infection and may indicate areas with disease impacts on host populations. However, isolating the ecological processes that res...
A field biologist was bitten by a female Nikolsky’s viper (Vipera berus nikolskii) in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Two months later, the patient began to experience cold-induced vasospasm of the affected digit diagnosed as acquired Raynaud phenomenon. The patient had more than 30 occurrences during the single winter following the bite, but the signs an...
Prior to the large-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russia had already occupied territories in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine with rich biodiversity and a number of protected habitats and endemic species, being responsible for all negative processes there. Since the onset in February 2022 the large-scale aggression against Ukraine, because of dense sh...
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Symposium 17-19 July 2023, Istanbul https://eebst.ekoevo.org/
Urban areas are the new types of landscapes that have rapidly developed in the Anthropocene and generally mimic mountains and rock habitats. Such areas attract different vertebrate species that naturally prefer rocky habitats, for example, bats, which are common animal inhabitants of the cities in the Northern Hemisphere. Here we review records of...
For the ongoing range shifts under climate change, it is essential to have reference information on the current presence of the species. In recent years, there has been an increase in observations of thermophilic reptiles outside their historical range in Ukraine. The distribution of the Caspian whipsnake, a common snake in southern Ukraine, appear...
The Sharp-nosed Reed Frogs (Hyperolius nasutus Günther, 1865 sensu lato) are a complex of species widespread in savannah regions of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Ivory Coast (Schiøtz, 1999) to southern Somalia (Lanza, 1981, 1990), and southwards to the KwaZulu- Natal lowlands of South Africa (Poynton and Broadley, 1987). In Ethiopia these frogs have...
The Meadow and Steppe viper, Vipera ursinii-renardi complex is a well-studied group that is divided into several morphological subspecies. In this study, we combine the analyses of two mitochondrial genes with 9 microsatellite markers to compare both phylogenetic signals. Whereas the signal is similar between both genomes within most subspecies, th...
1. Infectious diseases are influenced by interactions between host and pathogen, and are rarely homogenous across the landscape. Areas with elevated pathogen prevalence maintain a high force of infection, can facilitate pathogen spread to new regions, and may indicate areas with impacts on host populations. However, isolating the ecological process...
Lamprophis erlangeri is a lamprophiid snake endemic to moist montane forest remnants and formerly forested areas in the south and south-west of the Ethiopian highlands. Its vernacular name ‘Ethiopian House Snake’ is a result of century-long speculations about the generic placement of this species. New molecular and morphological data brought eviden...
Traits for prey acquisition form the phenotypic interface of predator–prey interactions. In venomous predators, morphological variation in venom delivery apparatus like fangs and stingers may be optimized for dispatching prey. Here, we determine how a single dimension of venom injection systems evolves in response to variation in the size, climatic...
There is a guild of three phenotypically similar dwarf vipers of steppes and grassland from Western Asia (Turkiye, Transcaucasus, Iran), all with a threat status assessed by IUCN 2009: Vipera anatolica (CR), V. renardi eriwanensis (VU) and V. darevskii (CR). As their distribution and ecology is little known, and even their systematics stands with m...
Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is responsible for a number of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD) that can severely impact domestic pig herds. For a non-enveloped virus with a small genome (1.7 kb ssDNA), PCV2 is remarkably diverse, with eight genotypes (a–h). New genotypes of PCV2 can spread through the migration of wild boar, which a...
Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is responsible for a number of porcine circovirus associated diseases (PCAD) that can severely impact domestic pig herds. For a non-enveloped virus with a small genome (1.7 kb ssDNA), PCV2 is remarkably diverse, with 8 subtypes (a-h). New subtypes of PCV2 can spread through migration of wild boars, which are thought...
New records of four species of the genus Lepiota (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) are reported from Ukraine. Three species, L. fuscovinacea, L. griseovirens, and L. roseolivida, are recorded in Ukraine for the first time, whereas a poorly known species, L. subalba, earlier known in Ukraine from a few records, is confirmed using molecular identification...
From an evolutionary point of view, the achievement of species status by a group of populations is an ongoing process (except for rare cases of instantaneous speciation), during which isolated populations acquire traits and adaptations that minimize gene flow between them. However, depending on the group, the ways and timing of the gaining of repro...
A new ground-dwelling species of treefrog in the genus Leptopelis is described from the Harenna Forest in south-eastern Ethiopia. The description is based on morphology and acoustics and is supported by molecular data. The new species has a small body size, and the digital discs on fingers and toes are significantly more conspicuous than in other s...
The species status of Vipera orlovi is discussed in the context of the concept of hybrid speciation. The genome of this Caucasian viper is composed of the genomes of Vipera kaznakovi (major part) and of Vipera renardi (about 20%). V. orlovi is intermediate in ecology between its ‘parental species,’ however its habitat is not the typical habitat of...
A rare live record of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) is reported from the Dzharylgach Gulf in the north-western Black Sea. This is the first record from Ukrainian waters since 1962 and the northernmost record of the species in the Black Sea. The loggerhead sea turtles of the east Mediterranean origin are increasingly oft...
Although envenoming by a small East European species of viper is rarely severe, and only exceptionally fatal, lack of specific antivenom stocks in a few areas within this region and possible severe side effects of antivenom application leave most bites to be treated only with antihistamines and supportive therapy. Varespladib is an effective inhibi...
Phrynobatrachus inexpectatus and P. minutus are sister species of dwarf-size puddle frogs endemic to humid montane forests in the Ethiopian highlands. For almost two decades P. inexpectatus was officially known only from two populations, although a wider distribution was assumed. We confirm a population of this species in Harenna Forest (Bale Zone)...
![Variation in female size (F = LN[female size]) and sexual size...](publication/341204985/figure/fig3/AS:11431281180513573@1691610321756/Variation-in-female-size-FLNfemale-size-and-sexual-size-dimorphism-SSDfemale_Q320.jpg)
Reproductive mode, ancestry, and climate are hypothesized to determine body size variation in reptiles but their effects have rarely been estimated simultaneously, especially at the intraspecific level. The common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) occupies almost the entire Northern Eurasia and includes viviparous and oviparous lineages, thus representing...
The designation of taxonomic units has important implications for the understanding and conservation of biodiversity. Eurasian vipers are a monophyletic group of viperid snakes (Serpentes, Viperinae), currently comprising four genera (Daboia, Macrovipera, Montivipera and Vipera) and up to 40 species. Taxonomic units have been described using a wide...
It has been proposed that Lacerta viridis magnifica Sobolevssky, 1930 represents an extinct species or subspecies of green lizard endemic to the southern Crimea. Using NGS protocols optimized for heavily degraded DNA, we generated a complete mitogenome from one of the originally formalin-preserved specimens collected in the late 19th century. A com...
A part of the COI mitochondrial barcoding gene was sequenced from seven species of different taxonomical groups: Ambystoma mexicanum (Amphibia, Ambystomatidae), Darevskia lindholmi, Lacerta agilis exigua (Reptilia, Lacertidae), Erinaceus roumanicus ( Mammalia, Erinaceidae ), Macrobiotus sp. 1 and 2 (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae) and Cameraria ohride...
Наводиться перелік тварин, що мешкають у Харківській області, занесених до Червоної книги України та Регіонального Переліку видів. що підлягають охороні на території області.
Наведені відомості про 386 видів рідкісних і зникаючих тварин Харківської області (серед яких 41 вид, занесений до списку МСОП, 163
види — до Червоної книги України, 51 вид — до різноманітних Європейських червоних списків). Представлені таксономічна належність
кожного виду, природоохоронний статус, морфологічні та екологічні особливості кожного в...
The tadpole of poorly studied Leptopelis ragazzii (Boulenger, 1896), a high-altitude tree frog species from the Ethiopian highlands, is described for the first time and compared with closely related sympatric species — L. gramineus (Boulenger, 1898) and L. vannutellii (Boulenger, 1898).
At a local scale, the timing of periodic life-history events of ectothermic vertebrates is strongly influenced by the ambient temperature. in the mountains, temperature decreases with increasing elevation. This is why the onset of spring activity of vipers can be expected to vary regionally between warm lowland and cold montane climates.
To analyze...
In some cases, species’ distributions have not been accurate and some geographical areas were not accounted for in the New Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe (NA2RE), a project per-formed by the Mapping Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH). The distribu-tion of species within the Vipera ursinii-renardi group were presented...
Climatic changes during the Pleistocene played an instrumental role in the shaping recent distribution and diversity of the Western Palearctic biota. Range oscillations often lead to allopatric differentiation followed by the establishment of secondary contact zones. As a result, many species are composed of complex networks of phylogenetic lineage...
Hotspots of intraspecific genetic diversity, which are of primary importance for the conservation of species, have been associated to glacial refugia, i.e. areas where species survived the Quaternary climatic oscillations. However, the proximate mechanisms generating these hotspots remain an open issue. Hotspots may reflect the long-term persistenc...
Background
Studying patterns of introgression can illuminate the role of hybridization in speciation, and help guide decisions relevant to the conservation of rare taxa. Vipera magnifica and Vipera orlovi are small vipers that have high conservation status due to their rarity and restricted distributions in an area of the Caucasus region where two...
The occurrence of Vipera anatolica EisElt & Baran, 1970, in the territory of the type locality (cedar forest reserve “Çığlıkara ormanɪ” in the western taurus Mountains of southern turkey) was confirmed 29 years after the last observation. Nineteen specimens were found in three localities, situated two kilometers from each other, and located in kars...
Capture-mark-recapture data was used to infer growth rates of the Nikolsky’s viper, Vipera berus nikolskii (Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986), in the Eastern Ukraine. We have found that growth rate is negatively correlated with age. The difference in growth rates before maturation is not significant between different sexes. Growth rates decreas...
В монографии дан обзор литературных и оригинальных данных о гадюковых змеях
рода Vipera, обитающих в речном бассейне Волги.
В первой части приведены сведения об истории изучения (глава 1) и истории
формирования фауны гадюк региона (глава 2). В видовых очерках (глава 3) сведены данные
о морфологии, систематике, распространении, стациях и обилии, сез...
В главе приводятся и обсуждаются сведения, касающиеся истории формирования фауны гадюк Волжского бассейна. Плейстоценовый этап этой истории не одинаково трактуется соавторами статьи.
The up-to-date knowledge on the current state of populations of endangered species is essential for the development of sound species conservation strategy. The steppe viper Vipera renardi Christoph, 1861 (Reptilia, Viperidae)is vulnerable species listed in the Red book of Ukraine and the Red book of Kharkiv region. The article summarizes the histor...
The Dione snake is one of least known species of racers in the fauna of Ukraine. According to the current data, the territory of Eastern Ukraine is the western boundary of the species’ distribution. The Dione snake is listed in the Red book of Ukraine and has a status of endangered taxon. This species is locally distributed and comparatively common...
The fecundity-advantage-hypothesis (FAH) explains larger female size relative to male size as a correlated response to fecundity selection. We explored FAH by investigating geographic variation in female reproductive output and its relation to sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in Lacerta agilis, an oviparous lizard occupying a major part of temperate Eu...
The European common lizard, Zootoca vivipara, is the most widespread terrestrial reptile in the world. It occupies almost the entire Northern Eurasia and includes four viviparous and two oviparous lineages. We analysed how female snout-vent length (SVL), clutch size (CS), hatchling mass (HM), and relative clutch mass (RCM) is associated with the re...
Discriminant analysis of the pholidosis was carried out in a purpose of subspecies diagnostics of Pelias berus. Features of the number of ventral and loreal scales are the most important subspecies determination. The vipers of both Voronezh and Lipetsk Region were classified as Nykolsky’s viper. The features have a transitory character an from P. b...
Herein we present the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) based phylogeography of the dice snake (Natrix tessellata) in Eastern Europe and The Balkans. Eight haplotypes were identified. Phylogenetic reconstruction has showed 3 major clades: 1) Greece, 2) Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, 3) Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Russia only). Our data are i...
During recent external morphological analyses of vipers located in the herpetological collection of the museum of Nature at Kharkiv National University (further MNKhNU) and Institute of Zoology of the Azerbaijan
National Academy of Sciences (further IZ), several specimens of V. eriwanensis were discovered which considerably extend the distribution...
The current book aims to present a species catalogue of Rhynchocephalia, Lizards and Amphisbaenians stored in the Muzeum of Nature of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Current Latin species and subspecies names, inventory numbers, places of storage, localities, dates of capturing or receiving, collectors' names and original comments are giv...
The snout-vent length (SVL), a conventional measure of overall body size in lizards and snakes, is used in a wide variety of ecological, evolutionary, and taxonomical studies. Trends in SVL variation are often analysed using data from several researchers (observers), but possible confounding effects due to inter-observer differences in measurement...
Data on morphologic variability of the steppe viper in the Kirovograd region (Right-bank Ukraine) are given firstly. Tentative estimation of the similaritylevel of the local population and the populations from the Left-bank Ukraine and the Crimea was carried out using methods of the multivariate statistics. Morphological data in line with the resul...
Data on the northern range limit of the dice snake, Natrix tessellata, in Ukraine and
the Don River basin in Russia are summarized. The northern limit of the species continuous
range there lies mostly between 49º and 50º N and, except for the westernmost territories,
almost coinсides with the 21 ºC isotherm of July. To the north of this border s...
This publication provides a critical review of the amphibian and reptilian type specimens presented in the collec-tion of the Museum of Nature at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Kharkiv, Ukraine), as of May 2008. The collection contains type specimens of twenty taxa. Eleven of them are valid species or subspecies. Lecto-types of Hyla arb...
Natural hybrids between V. berus and V. renardi were found in Spassk district of Tatarstan Republic. Hybridization
is confirmed by results of sequencing of nuclear genes BACH-1 and Rag-1, as well as biochemical
and morphological data and apparently is introgressive. Causes of absence of reproductive isolation near
northern border of distribution of...
Data on morphologic variability of the steppe viper in the Kirovograd region (Right-bank Ukraine) are given firstly. Tentative estimation of the similarity level of the local population and the populations from the Left-bank Ukraine and the Crimea was carried out using methods of the multivariate statistics.Morphological data in line with the resul...
1. Distribution and status of medicinal leeches were re-considered in the light of the new taxonomy recognizing four Western Palaearctic species: Hirudo medicinalis, Hirudo verbana, Hirudo orientalis and Hirudo troctina.
2. Recent records and new data obtained on expeditions to Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Western Bal...
Morphological variation of vipers of the Vipera berus complex in Eastern Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Western and Central Ukraine was studied using multivariate statistics. Discriminant analysis, based on ten meristic characters in 89.7% of cases (males) and in 92.0% cases (females), was able to separate reference samples of subspecies Vipe...
The catalogue is the fourth in the series of catalogues of the Museum of Nature of Kharkiv Karazin National University. In it’s format, structure and type of given information it continues the already published catalogues of the Museum (Vedmederja et al., 2007; Devyatko, Dzhamirzoev, 2008; Catalogue …, 2009) and is devoted to amphibians and two rep...
Рецензія на монографію фахівців Дніпропетровського національного університету висвітлює основні наукові та методичні досягнення авторів та закликає до дискусії з деяких цікавих питань, відображених у монографії.
Based on
DNA flow cytometry, we identified green frog localities with hybrid Rana esculenta. We found or
confirmed some southernmost localities of the species situated in Moldavia and Ukraine. According to
our data, the southern distributional border of R. esculenta is demarcated as follows from the west to
the east: Vilkovo (Danube River Delta), V...
In the book snake species collection catalogue of the Museum of nature at
V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University is presented. Current latin species and
subspecies names, inventory numbers, places of store, localities, dates of capturing or
receiving, collectors names and comments are listed. The issue is intended for
herpetologists or wide zool...
Дается обзор гипотез, объясняющих процесс формирования ареалов гадюк Волжского бассейна. Отмечается, что гипотезы появления и расселения видов зависят от представлений о характере плейстоценовой эпохи. Указывается на необходимость использования палеонтологических данных.
The external morphology of more than 1000 specimens of Vipera renardi (Christoph, 1861) from the Crimean peninsula and from the eastern and southern continental parts of Ukraine was examined and analyzed by statistical, multivariate methods. It turned out that, in contrast to central and northern Crimean as well as continental lowland populations,...
In one of the best-known parts of its distribution range (eastern and central Ukraine), Vipera berus nikolskii inhabits ecotones of broad-leaved forests connected with river banks. Sometimes, normally close to such forests and particularly towards the southern border of its range, V. b. nikolskii occurs in fl ood-plain deciduous forests or bogs ins...
The external morphology of more than 1000 specimens of Vipera renardi (Christoph, 1861) from the Crimean peninsula and from the eastern and southern continental parts of Ukraine was examined and analyzed by statistical, multivariate methods. It turned out that, in contrast to central and northern Crimean as well as continental lowland populations,...
Mass triploidy in hybrid Rana esculenta was revealed by means of DNA flow cytometry
in 19 localities of eastern Ukraine (Kharkov, Donetsk, and Lugansk provinces). Triploids
consist of two groups in terms of parental species genomes: LLR and LRR. The both
groups were recorded in population systems of the E and R–E types. Two tetraploids
were found a...
An analysis of bibliography, morphological features, distribution, hemipenes structure of Vipera berus and Vipera nikolskii are given. Systematic of these two taxa is discussed.
ZINENKO, O., Notes on egg-laying, clutch size and hatchling feeding of Emys orbicularis in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Biologia, Bratislava, 59/Suppl. 14: 149—151, 2004; ISSN 0006-3088. Emys orbicularis was studied 1999–2004 in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. There, it inhabits oxbows, main riverbeds, springs, swamps, and artificial ponds. Egg-layi...
In eastern Ukraine, the Rana esculenta complex consists of three species: R. lessonae, R. ridibunda, and hybrid R. esculenta. The first one was rare, whereas two latter frog taxa were very common. Based on DNA flow cyto-metry, mass occurrence of the triploidy in Rana esculenta has been revealed in 14 localities of Kharkov, Do-netsk, and Lugansk Pro...
Available data on hybridization of Nikolsky’s adder (Vipera nikolskii VEDMEDERYA, GRUBANT &
RUDAEVA, 1986) and the common adder (Vipera berus [LINNAEUS, 1758]) are summarised. First
generation hybrids between V. nikolskii and V. berus were bred in captivity. Morphologically
hybrids are intermediate between parental species and specimens, though the...
Morphological differences between European pond turtles, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Cri- mea and of other parts of Ukraine were noted for the first time by Szczerbak (1966). He stated that Crimean turtles are reaching a maximum carapacial length of only 160.5 mm and are, therefore, distinctly smaller than in other regions. Szczerba...
The first generation hybrids between the Nikolsky’s
adder (Vipera nikolskii Vedmederya, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986) and the common adder (Vipera
berus Linnaeus, 1758) were received in captivity. Morphologically, in the hybrids the characters of parental
species and specimens are combined, though they differ from both species in several features.
Amon...
Questions
Questions (12)
I am looking for LC-MS spectrum of the common adder Vipera berus with or without identification of individual peaks to compare with my results.
I've run into really strong discrepancy between individual genes topologies. Reasons for it quite well known, but what about solutions?
I wonder if anybody has an experience of sequencing PCR products where master mix contains green dye for gel loading. What if I will purify them with enzymes instead of gel extraction or purification with columns?
Inspired by the Wall of Dead. There is need of such course in the university, I believe. https://strangebehaviors.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/the-wall-of-the-dead/
I am helping colleagues with setting very basic level of bioinformatic workflow, and since I am also not very familiar with the topic, have to ask the community. They have quite neat new laptop with Windows 10, don't know if there are able to switch to Linux. Main aim now - map illumina reads of fifteen strains of bacterias to reference genome to see mutations/translocations/inversions
So, it's a common notion that must be only one haplotype of mtDNA in the organism, but may somebody knows examples when it is not true?
Usually when two genes demonstrate different topologies, there is usual explanation that genealogies of these two or more loci were different, they may split in different time, be a subject of selection, introgression etc. I have different trees build on different mitochondrial coding genes (Cytb and COI) and wonder if there was any publication discussing why it may happen. Since both genes are on mt genome, this is one locus, so introgression and differences in splitting time could be ruled out.
