Fine morphology of the putative olfactory hairs in the harvestman Heteromitobates discolor (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores)

• Grant number: 13/23189-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Hirata Willemart
• Grantee: Guilherme Gainett Cardoso Martins de Carvalho Florez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 10/00915-0 - Chemical communication in harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones): morphology, behavior and chemistry, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/07671-0 - Ultrastructure of sensilla chaetica in the harvestman Heteromitobates discolor (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores), BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Recent behavioral studies have shown that harvestmen of the suborder Laniatores can detect odors, but no olfactory receptor has yet been identified in the group. Histology is an efficient method to infer sensilla function in arthropods. Applying this technique in this harvestmen group would be particularly interesting because it would: 1) enable the identification of olfactory receptors in animals highly dependent on chemorreception; 2) give a base for testing homologies and therefore testing the use of some sensilla as taxonomic characters; 3) enable generalizing sensilla function for other species with sensilla' morphology similar to the species studied herein. In this project, I intend to histologically characterize the putative olfactory receptors in Heteromitobates discolor (Laniatores: Gonyleptidae), focusing on the various sensilla basiconica present in different pairs of leg, and on the falciform hairs, which occur in pairs of leg I and II. The study will be conducted with histological methods based on light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and serial block-face scanning electron microscopy. This project is part of a broader project involving other students investigating the sensory biology of Opiliones under a morphological, behavioral and chemical perspective. (AU)

Scientific publications

(6)

(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)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; SHARMA, PRASHANT P.; GIRIBET, GONZALO; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.. The sensory equipment of a sandokanid: An extreme case of tarsal reduction in harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones, Laniatores). Journal of Morphology, v. 279, n. 9, p. 1206-1223, SEP 2018. (10/00915-0, 13/23189-1)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.; GIRIBET, GONZALO; SHARMA, PRASHANT P.. Convergent evolution of sexually dimorphic glands in an amphi-Pacific harvestman family. INVERTEBRATE SYSTEMATICS, NOV 2020. (13/23189-1)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; SHARMA, PRASHANT P.; FERNANDES, NATHALIA; PINTO-DA-ROCHA, RICARDO; GIRIBET, GONZALO; WILLEMART, RODRIGO HIRATA. Evolution of a sensory cluster on the legs of Opiliones (Arachnida) informs multi-level phylogenetic relationships. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 187, n. 1, p. 143-165, SEP 2019. (10/00915-0, 13/23189-1, 13/50297-0, 14/07671-0, 15/01518-9)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; MICHALIK, PETER; MUELLER, CARSTEN H. G.; GIRIBET, GONZALO; TALARICO, GIOVANNI; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.. Ultrastructure of chemoreceptive tarsal sensilla in an armored harvestman and evidence of olfaction across Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT, v. 46, n. 2, p. 178-195, MAR 2017. (13/23189-1, 10/00915-0, 14/07671-0)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; MICHALIK, PETER; MUELLER, CARSTEN H. G.; GIRIBET, GONZALO; TALARICO, GIOVANNI; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.. Putative thermo-/hygroreceptive tarsal sensilla on the sensory legs of an armored harvestman (Arachnida, Opiliones). ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER, v. 270, p. 81-97, 2017. (10/00915-0, 13/23189-1, 14/07671-0)

GAINETT, GUILHERME; WILLEMART, RODRIGO H.; GIRIBET, GONZALO; SHARMA, PRASHANT P.. Convergent evolution of sexually dimorphic glands in an amphi-Pacific harvestman family. INVERTEBRATE SYSTEMATICS, v. 34, n. 8, p. 22-pg., 2020-11-16. (13/23189-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

FLOREZ, Guilherme Gainett Cardoso Martins de Carvalho. Tarsal sensory structures in harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones): functional morphology, evolution and their use in systematics. 2016. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) São Paulo.