Sequencing the smallest insects: methodological challenges and operational advances in exploring tropical forest biodiversity

• Grant number: 25/08714-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Dalton de Souza Amorim
• Grantee: Dalton de Souza Amorim
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Leví Oliveira Barros

Abstract

Large-scale sequencing of a Cytochrome Oxidase I fragment has become an extremely useful tool for studying complete fauna of the enormous diversity of insects in tropical and temperate forests. Insect diversity in a single area is so large, over 100,000 species, that the availability of these data should be a game-changer in understanding the complexity of forest environments. Many sequencing protocols are already established, however and, therefore, their use depends only on the adequate construction of pipelines and the large-scale implementation of protocols. However, a significant portion of the insects collected are less than 2.0 mm, corresponding to methodological challenges that remain to be resolved. This project, therefore, has two main components: (1) generating new solutions to deal with the smallest insects (between 0.15 and 2.0 mm) in sequencing protocols; and (2) applying these protocols on a large scale, covering more than 65,000 specimens. In this way, this project offers enormous potential for taxonomic resolution of neglected insect species, particularly those of the family Cecidomyiidae, which are often underestimated due to their small size and the methodological difficulties involved in their collection and identification. (AU)