Tatiane Mariguela

Recent molecular hypotheses suggest that some traditional suprageneric taxa of Characiformes require revision, as they may not constitute monophyletic groups. This is the case for the Bryconidae. Various studies have proposed that this family (considered a subfamily by some authors) may be composed of different genera. However, until now, no phylogenetic study of all putative genera has been conducted. In the present study, we analyzed 27 species (46 specimens) of all currently recognized genera of the Bryconidae (ingroup) and 208 species representing all other families and most genera of the Characiformes (outgroup). Five genes were sequenced: 16SrRNA, Cytochrome b, recombination activating gene 1 and 2 and myosin heavy chain 6 cardiac muscle. The final matrix contained 4699 bp and was analyzed by maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses. The results show that the Bryconidae, composed of Brycon, Chilobrycon, Henochilus and Salminus, is monophyletic and is the sister group of Gasteropelecidae + Triportheidae. However, the genus Brycon is polyphyletic. Fossil studies suggest that the family originated approximately 33 million years ago (Ma) and that one of the two main lineages persisted only in trans-Andean rivers, including Central American rivers, suggesting a much older origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna than previously accepted. Bryconidae is composed by five main clades, including the genera Brycon, Chilobrycon, Henochilus and Salminus, but a taxonomic review of these groups is needed. Our results points to a possible ancient invasion of Central America, dating about 17.4+/-8 Ma (late Oligocene/late Miocene), to explain the occurrence of Brycon in Central America

Fig. 2. Caudal peduncle evidencing dark spots of (a) Tetragonopterus carvalhoi, paratype, MZUSP 102268, 39.9 mm SL (rio Jari); (b) T. argenteus, LBP 3758, 60.8 mm SL (rio Negro); (c) T. chalceus, MZUSP 35008, 67.9 mm SL (rio Araguari); (d) T. rarus, LBP 5375, 38.0 mm SL (rio Jari).

Again, Teri was among the first to apply Zoo-FISH in horses showing that horse chromosome 3 shares evolutionary homology (and likely the same genes) with human chromosomes 4 and 16. In these times when almost no genes were mapped in the horse genome, this was an outstanding breakthrough. As a logical continuation, in the following two decades, Teri Lear was among the leaders of cytogenetic mapping of the horse genome. The work culminated with the release of the horse reference genome sequence assembly in 2009. On May 14, we lost Dr. Teri Lear – a dedicated, inspiring and beloved member of the animal cytogenetics and genomics community. She passed away at the age of 64 years, following seven incredibly brave years of battle with cancer. Teri was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in biology at Indiana University Southeast and a Master’s degree in cytogenetics at the University of Louisville. After earning a PhD in genetics at the University of Kentucky, she joined the faculty of Veterinary Science where she worked till the very end. It was probably the horse-enriched atmosphere of Kentucky that led Teri into a lifelong love affair with horses. She showed American Saddlebred horses as a teenager and was proud to have bred, raised, and trained Bissy , a buckskin Saddlebred gelding, who was with her for 26 years and died just a year before Teri – a loss she felt deeply. Teri’s professional life was also horse driven. Inspired by these beautiful creatures, Teri became one of the world’s leading experts on equine cytogenetics. She was one of the key players in making equine cytogenetics to what it is today. In 1997, Teri was at the heart of developing The International System for Cytogenetic Nomenclature of the Horse (ISCNH 1997). This work essentially established the foundation for equine clinical cytogenetics, physical gene mapping, and genome sequencing. In the 1990s, Teri was at the forefront of the inception of an innovative molecular cytogenetics technique – fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) – in animal cytogenetics, thus facilitating the merge of cytogenetics with genomics. This was also the time when comparative chromosome painting or Zoo-FISH revolutionized animal genomics. Accepted: August 25, 2016 by M. Schmid Published online: October 1, 2016

The 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences are subject of dynamic evolution at chromosomal and molecular levels, evolving through concerted and/or birth-and-death fashion. Among grasshoppers, the chromosomal location for this sequence was established for some species, but little molecular information was obtained to infer evolutionary patterns. Here, we integrated data from chromosomal and nucleotide sequence analysis for 5S rDNA in two Abracris species aiming to identify evolutionary dynamics. For both species, two arrays were identified, a larger sequence (named type-I) that consisted of the entire 5S rDNA gene plus NTS (non-transcribed spacer) and a smaller (named type-II) with truncated 5S rDNA gene plus short NTS that was considered a pseudogene. For type-I sequences, the gene corresponding region contained the internal control region and poly-T motif and the NTS presented partial transposable elements. Between the species, nucleotide differences for type-I were noticed, while type-...

Characidae is the most species-rich family of freshwater fishes in the order Characiformes, with more than 1000 valid species that correspond to approximately 55% of the order. Few hypotheses about the composition and internal relationships within this family are available and most fail to reach an agreement. Among Characidae, Cheirodontinae is an emblematic group that includes 18 genera (1 fossil) and approximately 60 described species distributed throughout the Neotropical region. The taxonomic and systematic history of Cheirodontinae is complex, and only two hypotheses about the internal relationships in this subfamily have been reported to date. In the present study, we test the composition and relationships of fishes assigned to Cheirodontinae based on a broad taxonomic sample that also includes some characid incertae sedis taxa that were previously considered to be part of Cheirodontinae. We present phylogenetic analyses of a large molecular dataset of mitochondrial and nuclea...

A new species of Moenkhausia is described from tributaries of the rio Paraguay, Brazil. The new species is diagnosed from congeners by characters related to body coloration, the number of lateral line scales, the degree of poring of the lateral line, and number of scales rows above and below the lateral line. Molecular analyses using partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase I from specimens of the new species and specimens belonging to morphologically similar species demonstrated that the new species is easily differentiated by their high genetic distance and by their position in the phylogenetic hypothesis obtained through the Maximum Parsimony methodology. The analyses of three samples of M. oligolepis also revealed that they have high genetic distances and belong to different monophyletic groups suggesting that this species corresponds to a species complex rather than a single species.

The dataset provided here includes 8320 frugivory interactions (records of pairwise interactions between plant and frugivore species) reported for the Atlantic Forest. The dataset includes interactions between 331 vertebrate species (232 birds, 90 mammals, five fishes, one amphibian and three reptiles) and 788 plant species. We also present information on traits directly related to the frugivory process (endozoochory), such as the size of fruits and seeds and the body mass and gape size of frugivores. Data were extracted from 166 published and unpublished sources spanning from 1961 to 2016. While this is probably the most comprehensive dataset available for a tropical ecosystem, it is arguably taxonomically and geographically biased. The plant families better represented are Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae, Urticaceae and Solanaceae. Myrsine coriacea, Alchornea glandulosa, Cecropia pachystachya, and Trema micrantha are the plant species with the most animal dispersers (83, 76, ...

Se registran los primeros analisis por tincion convencional de Giemsa, impregnacion con nitrato de plata de las regiones de organizadores nucleolares (Ag-NOR) e hibridizacion fluorescente in situ (FISH) llevados a cabo en Ophisternon aenigmaticum proveniente de la Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. Fueron encontrados dos cariotipos: C1, 2n=46, compuesto de seis cromosomas metamericos de tamano medio, dos subtelocentricos y 38 acrocentricos; y C2, 2n=45, compuesto de un cromosoma metacentrico grande y cinco metacentricos medianos, un subtelocentrico y 38 acrocentricos. En el cariotipo C1 los cistrones ribosomales mayores (rADN) se localizan en la posicion termi nal de los brazos cortos del primer par metacentrico, determinado por Ag-NOR y FISH con la sonda 18S rADN. En el cariotipo C2, la tincion argentica solo mostro una senal positiva en un cromosoma sencillo del par 1, mientras que FISH con la sonda 18S r ADN hibridizo en dos cromosomas diferentes: uno coincidente con el Ag-NOR (par 1)...

Spittlebugs, which belong to the family Cercopidae (Auchenorrhyncha, Hemiptera), form a large group of xylem-feeding insects that are best known for causing damage to plantations and pasture grasses. The holocentric chromosomes of these insects remain poorly studied in regards to the organization of different classes of repetitive DNA. To improve chromosomal maps based on repetitive DNAs and to better understand the chromosomal organization and evolutionary dynamics of multigene families in spittlebugs, we physically mapped the U1 snRNA gene with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 10 species of Cercopidae belonging to three different genera. All the U1 snDNA clusters were autosomal and located in interstitial position. In seven species, they were restricted to one autosome per haploid genome, while three species of the genus Mahanarva showed two clusters in two different autosomes. Although it was not possible to precisely define the ancestral location of this gene, it was...

Insects of the Cercopidae family are widely distributed and comprise 59 genera and 431 species in the New World. They are xylemophagous, causing losses in agricultural and pasture grasses, and are considered as emerging pests. Chromosomally, these insects have been studied by standard techniques, revealing variable diploid numbers and primarily X0 sex chromosome systems (males). We performed chromosome studies in 6 Mahanarva (Cercopidae) species using standard and differential chromosome staining as well as mapping of repetitive DNAs. Moreover, the relationship between the repetitive DNAs was analyzed at the interspecific level. A diploid chromosome number of 2n = 19,X0 was documented, with chromosomes gradually decreasing in size. Neutral or GC-rich regions were detected which varied depending on the species. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with a (TTAGG)n telomeric motif probe revealed terminal signals, matching those of the Cot DNAs obtained from each species, that were also r...

We tested the effect of social isolation on the aggressiveness of an Amazonian fish: Astronotus ocellatus. Ten juvenile fishes were transferred from a group aquarium (60 x 60 x 40 cm) containing 15 individuals (without distinguishing sex) to an isolation aquarium (50 x 40 x 40 cm). Aggressiveness was tested by means of attacks on and displays toward the mirror image. The behavior was video-recorded for 10 min at a time on 4 occasions: at 30 min, 1 day, 5 days and 15 days after isolation. The aggressive drive was analyzed in three ways: latency to display agonistic behavior, frequency of attacks and specific attacks toward the mirror image. The latency to attack decreased during isolation, but the frequency of mouth fighting (a high aggressive attack) tended to increase, indicating an augmented aggressive drive. Our findings are congruent with the behavior of the juvenile cichlid, Haplochromis burtoni but differ from the behavior observed in another cichlid, Pterophylum scalare. Incr...

The 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences are subject of dynamic evolution at chromosomal and molecular levels, evolving through concerted and/or birth-and-death fashion. Among grasshoppers, the chromosomal location for this sequence was established for some species, but little molecular information was obtained to infer evolutionary patterns. Here, we integrated data from chromosomal and nucleotide sequence analysis for 5S rDNA in two Abracris species aiming to identify evolutionary dynamics. For both species, two arrays were identified, a larger sequence (named type-I) that consisted of the entire 5S rDNA gene plus NTS (non-transcribed spacer) and a smaller (named type-II) with truncated 5S rDNA gene plus short NTS that was considered a pseudogene. For type-I sequences, the gene corresponding region contained the internal control region and poly-T motif and the NTS presented partial transposable elements. Between the species, nucleotide differences for type-I were noticed, while type-...