The history of the Caatinga: mapping genetic patterns and evolutionary processes in an endemic species using rapid evolution markers

• Grant number: 12/06611-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: July 10, 2012
• End date: November 09, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Grantee: Maria Tereza Chiarioni Thomé
• Supervisor: Fernando Jorge Guimarães Sequeira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade do Porto (UP), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/51392-0 - History of Caatinga: comparative phylogeography of amphibians facing a xeric biome, BP.PD

Abstract

The Caatinga is the least studied and protected biome in Brazil. Its most striking feature is the water deficit caused by long and intense dry seasons, for which the biota is highly adapted. Despite this general condition of dryness, abiotic factors vary regionally and associations between environmental conditions and distribution patterns of diversity suggest historic relationships and a role in diversification. Information on the history of the biome are scarce and local, but suggest interactions with adjacent biomes related to past climate changes. Paleoindicators indicate partial replacement of the Caatinga by rain forests in the Pleistocene, while niche palaeomodeling supports a fairly stable Caatinga for the same period. Phylogeographic studies with endemic species will be needed to investigate these broad scale hypotheses of diversification, while the development of new hypotheses at a finer scale depends on inference based on powerful genetic markers. In this study we propose to explore fine patterns of distribution of genetic diversity in Pleurodema diplolister, a species of frog endemic to the Caatinga but distributed throughout the biome. We will use rapidly evolving markers (microsatellites) to identify and map evolutionary processes. Our aim is to perform a first evaluation on the applicability of the abovementioned hypotheses (historical correlation with abiotic factors, habitat stability and past climate changes), and to propose more detailed scenarios to be tested in the context of the original research project. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; CARSTENS, BRYAN C.; RODRIGUES, MIGUEL TREFAUT; GALETTI JR, PEDRO MANOEL JR; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.. A role of asynchrony of seasons in explaining genetic differentiation in a Neotropical toad. HEREDITY, v. 127, n. 4, JUL 2021. (11/51392-0, 13/50741-7, 11/50146-6, 18/03428-5, 03/10335-8, 12/06611-9)

THOME, M. T. C.; ALEXANDRINO, J.; LOPES, S.; HADDAD, C. F. B.; SEQUEIRA, F.. Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Brazilian four-eyed frogs (genus Pleurodema) endemic to the Caatinga biome. Genetics and Molecular Research, v. 13, n. 1, p. 1604-1608, 2014. (12/06611-9, 08/50928-1)

THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; SEQUEIRA, FERNANDO; BRUSQUETTI, FRANCISCO; CARSTENS, BRYAN; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; RODRIGUES, MIGUEL TREFAUT; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Recurrent connections between Amazon and Atlantic forests shaped diversity in Caatinga four-eyed frogs. Journal of Biogeography, v. 43, n. 5, p. 1045-1056, MAY 2016. (11/51392-0, 03/10335-8, 11/50146-6, 12/06611-9, 13/50741-7)