Fertile Chernozems of Southern Russia are of great value, so it is important to study the impact of agricultural activities on the soil quality. Changes in taxonomic composition and α-diversity of microbial communities of agricultural soils occupied by pea (Pisum sativum L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in response of cropland management were studied. A field experiment was conducted under four different conditions: (1) control, (2) mineral fertilizers (NPK) application alone, (3) pesticides application alone, and (4) fertilization combined with pesticides. The taxonomic composition of the soil bacterial community was studied by amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The predominance of Actinobacteria (17.7–32.3%), Proteobacteria (17.7–28.2%), Planctomycetes (10.1–21.3%), Acidobacteria (5.3–11.1%), Chloroflexi (1.0–7.1%), Gemmatimonadetes (2.5–8.0%), Bacteroidetes (3.6–11.3%), and Verrucomicrobia (3.9–9.2%) was noted. Introduction of pesticides led to an increase in the relative abundance of Chlorobi and Gemmatimonadetes. The time of sampling was the main significant factor determining the differences in the structure of soil microbial communities. All treatments did not have a significant effect on the α-diversity of the studied soils. Thus, treatment with mineral fertilizers and pesticides does not have a significant negative effect on the bacterial community of cultivated soils.

A library of novel 2-(het)arylpyrrolidine-1-carboxamides were obtained via a modular approach based on the intramolecular cyclization/Mannich-type reaction of N-(4,4-diethoxybutyl)ureas. Their anti-cancer activities both in vitro and in vivo were tested. The in vitro activity of some compounds towards M-Hela tumor cell lines was twice that of the reference drug tamoxifen, whereas cytotoxicity towards normal Chang liver cell did not exceed the tamoxifen toxicity. In vivo studies showed that the number of surviving animals on day 60 of observation was up to 83% and increased life span (ILS) was up to 447%. Additionally, some pyrrolidine-1-carboxamides possessing a benzofuroxan moiety obtained were found to effectively suppress bacterial biofilm growth. Thus, these compounds are promising candidates for further development both as anti-cancer and anti-bacterial agents.

Soils are a hotspot for the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. The effects of agrochemical treatments on the bacterial community of agricultural soils and the content of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) were studied. Treatments included the following: control, mineral fertilizers (NPKs), pesticides, and the combined treatment of soils under soya (Glycine max), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum). Bacterial community taxonomic composition was studied using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The content of 10 ARGs and 3 integron genes (intI1, intI2, intI3) was determined using quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that the treatments had little effect on the taxonomic composition and diversity of the soil bacterial community. The most significant factors determining differences in the microbial community were sampling time and soil physico-chemical parameters. A significant role of the bacterial community in ARG distribution in soils was demonstrated. Representatives of the Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, Arthrobacter genera, and the Nocardioidaceae and Micrococcaceae families were likely ARG hosts. The presence of integron genes of all three classes was detected, the most numerous being intI3. This work provides important information on the role of agricultural soils in ARG transfer, and the findings may be useful for sustainable and safe agricultural development.

A series of novel 4-aminobenzofuroxan derivatives containing aromatic/aliphatic amines fragments was achieved via aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction of 4,6-dichloro-5-nitrobenzofuroxan. The quantum chemistry calculations were performed to identify the factors affecting the regioselectivity of the reaction. The formation of 4-substituted isomer is favored both by its greater stability and the lower activation barrier. Antimicrobial activity of the obtained compounds has been evaluated and some of them were found to suppress effectively bacterial biofilm growth. Fungistatic activity of 4-aminobenzofuroxans were tested on two genetically distinct isolates of M. nivale. The effect of some benzofuroxan derivatives is likely to be more universal against different varieties of M. nivale compared with benzimidazole and carbendazim. Additionally, their anti-cancer activity in vitro has been tested. 4-aminofuroxans possessing aniline moiety showed a high selectivity towards MCF-7 and M-HeLa tumor cell lines. Moreover, they exhibit a significantly lower toxicity towards normal liver cells compared to Doxorubicin and Tamoxifen. Thus, benzofuroxans containing aromatic amines fragments in their structure are promising candidates for further development both as anti-cancer and anti-microbial agents.