Comparative genomic hybridization, microdissection and chromosome painting in Pyrrhulina (Characiformes, Lebiasinidae)

• Grant number: 17/20296-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 27, 2017
• End date: February 26, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo de Bello Cioffi
• Grantee: Renata Luiza Rosa de Moraes
• Supervisor: Thomas Liehr
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/26322-0 - Evolutionary relationships of the Erythrinidae family (Teleostei, Characiformes) I. comparative cytogenetics in Lebiasinidae, with focus in the genus Pyrrhulina, BP.IC

Abstract

The student has developed 16 months of the project entitled: Evolutionary relationships of the Erythrinidae family (Teleostei, Characiformes). I. Comparative cytogenetics in Lebiasinidae, with focus in the genus Pyrrhulina". In the first 12 months of her IC project, conventional and molecular analyses were conducted in two Pyrrhulina species, named P. australis and Pyrrhulina aff. australis. These results were recently published in the Journal Zebrafish (IF=2.2) (Moraes et al., 2017, Evolutionary Relationships and Cytotaxonomy Considerations in the Genus Pyrrhulina (Characiformes, Lebiasinidae). doi: 10.1089/zeb.2017.1465) where the student figures as the first author. Recently, analysis has been conducted in two additional species (P. semifasciata and P. brevis) collected in the Amazon River. Up to now, conventional (Giemsa and C-banding) and molecular (chromosomal mapping of multigene families, Transposable elements and some microsatellite repeats) were realized evidencing the presence of a multiple X1X2Y system in P. semifasciata species. Thus, taking into account the good progress of the project and the student's involvement in the experiments, we aim to deepen into multipronged and modern molecular cytogenetic approaches, including Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), microdissection of sex chromosomes and chromosome painting experiments using the technique of multicolor FISH (m-FISH). We will map the gDNA and Y sex chromosome of P. semifasciata in disctinct Pyrrhulina species to check the possible relationships among them. The experiments will be performed in the laboratory of Molekulare Zytogenetik (Universitätsklinikum Jena - Germany), headed by Prof. Dr. Thomas Liehr, researcher of global significance in chromosome microdissection and FISH. The data obtained will make it possible to elucidate the fundamental aspects of the evolution of sex chromosomes and karyotype evolution among fishes, considering the complex investigation of these chromosomes between closely related species. Finally, the results also make important contributions to the understanding of the evolution of sex chromosomes in vertebrates as a whole. In addition, besides the expected scientific advances, this proposal will provide a unique opportunity for the scientific training of the student, by interaction with renowned group of German research and learning new study methodologies currently employed in Dr. Liehr laboratory. (AU)