Use of DNA barcoding in Characidium zebra populations (Characiformes, Crenuchidae)

• Grant number: 10/20628-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2011
• End date: November 30, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Lurdes Foresti de Almeida-Toledo
• Grantee: Anita Leal Souza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The genus Characidium is considered the most specious in the Crenuchidae family. These small fish inhabit fast outflow streams, frequently gravitate around rock silts and vegetation. The species Characidium zebra, belonging to this genus, has data in cytogenetic nature that presuppose the existence of a close relationship between the different populations of Characidium zebra that have been already researched, yet with conflicts in their morphological taxonomy. Therefore, based on the analyzed data, it is assumed that C. zebra is likely a set of cryptic species, in which morphologic characters are not enough for the correct discrimination, requiring necessary the use of other biological characters for their correct identification. Thus, this research aims to characterize, through the DNA barcoding technique, different populations of C. zebra, to verify the occurrence of a set of cryptic species in the referred populations (AU)