Molecular characterization of two different morphotypes of Aplysia brasiliana collected in the bay of Santos, SP

• Grant number: 13/01000-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Karine Delevati Colpo
• Grantee: Luiza de Oliveira Saad
• Supervisor: Ángel Valdés
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly Pomona), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/12947-0 - Population Ecology of Aplysia brasiliana (Opistobranchia: Aplysiidae) in the Bay of Santos, São Paulo, BP.IC

Abstract

Species of the genus Aplysia are gastropod molluscs opisthobranch belonging to the family Aplysiidae. They live in temperate and tropical seas of the all world, the genus Aplysia is composed of approximately 30 species differentiated by size, color, geographical distribution, morphology and physiology. Despite the extensive study of the Aplysia brasiliana, few of these studies present a feature multidisciplinary evaluating of these organisms relating the ecology, morphology, taxonomy and behavior of these species. In this context, the study "Population Ecology of Aplysia brasiliana (Opistobranchia: Aplysiidae) in the Bay of Santos, São Paulo" (# Proc. 2012/12947-0), have shown peculiar results. So far, we found a lot of aplisias in the months of November and December, concomitant abundance of algae, as expected. However, despite the similarities, some sea hares showed discrepant external morphology differences, which allows to group them into two morphotypes. The current study objectives on analyzing of the the DNA sequencing of the two morphotypes found in the Bay of Santos (SP), which using molecular methodologies are compared in order to elucidate the identity thereof. For this, five individuals will be used for each morphotype. They were collected from October 2012 to February 2013 at two rocky shores in the Bay of Santos, São Paulo, one located in the Ponta da Praia, in the city of Santos (23 ° 59 '29 'S 46 ° 18'15 "W), the other located in Praia do Itararé, in São Vicente (23 ° 58'42" S 46 ° 22'4 "W). The morphotypes were preserved in 99% ethanol for molecular analysis. DNA will be extracted from a small sample of the foot of the specimens using Chelex® protocol and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR - polymerase chain reaction) using universal primers for COI - cytochrome c oxidase I and 16S - mitochondrial genetic information. The remaining procedures will be determined in accordance with the techniques proposed by the laboratory of Dr. Ángel Valdés in the Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University. Subsequently the results of genetic sequencing will be compared through specialized software’s obtaining the genetic differences between the two morphotypes. (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)

SAAD, LUIZA DE OLIVEIRA; CUNHA, CARLO MAGENTA; DELEVATI COLPO, KARINE; VALDES, ANGEL. It's not what it looks like: molecular data fails to substantiate morphological differences in two sea hares (Mollusca, Heterobranchia, Aplysiidae) from southern Brazil. HELGOLAND MARINE RESEARCH, v. 68, n. 4, p. 523-530, DEC 2014. (10/11253-9, 11/01493-5, 13/01000-4)