Phytoplankton is the base of the marine food chain as well as oxygen and carbon cycles and thus plays a global role in climate and ecology. Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses that infect phytoplankton organisms and regulate the phytoplankton dynamics encompass genes of rhodopsins of two distinct families. Here, we present a functional and structural characterization of two proteins of viral rhodopsin group 1, OLPVR1 and VirChR1. Functional analysis of VirChR1 shows that it is a highly selective, Na+/K+-conducting channel and, in contrast to known cation channelrhodopsins, it is impermeable to Ca2+ ions. We show that, upon illumination, VirChR1 is able to drive neural firing. The 1.4 Å resolution structure of OLPVR1 reveals remarkable differences from the known channelrhodopsins and a unique ion-conducting pathway. Thus, viral rhodopsins 1 represent a unique, large group of light-gated channels (viral channelrhodopsins, VirChR1s). In nature, VirChR1s likely mediate phototaxis of algae enhancing the host anabolic processes to support virus reproduction, and therefore, might play a major role in global phytoplankton dynamics. Moreover, VirChR1s have unique potential for optogenetics as they lack possibly noxious Ca2+ permeability.

The spread of coronavirus infection brings changes to all spheres of activity, including education, which is increasingly moving to a distance learning format. The ultimate goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the recommendations for developing a rigid class scheduling method in the framework of online learning using advanced approaches updating traditional learning mechanisms. Overall, this research was conducted among 226 students and 54 teachers representing Moscow Aviation Institute and Kazan Federal University. Research methodology basis was represented by a sociological survey, which allowed identifying the problems of implementation of online learning from the students' standpoint. The collected outcomes showed that for 35% of students, one of the main problems in distance learning was the lack of self-discipline, which can be further adjusted by a clearly established schedule of classes (37% of respondents) and tests (29% of respondents). At the same time, the collected data showed that the learning process was most efficient in subgroups 1 (0.5), 2 (0.3), and 5 (0.45). Recommendations provided for further distance education improvement, first of all, related to schedule formation issues. More precisely, the paper emphasized the need for time constraints, even distribution of subjects, use of special applications, designation of dates for knowledge checking, and inclusion of additional learning materials. The findings and results of this work are believed to be of scientific value for the methodological departments of educational institutions responsible for curricula preparation as they are expected to significantly contribute to educational process advancement.

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