Use of DNA metabarcoding in the identification of priority areas for the conservation of Neotropical ichthyofauna

• Grant number: 19/03597-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2019
• End date: April 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Claudio de Oliveira
• Grantee: Gabriela Omura da Costa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Although Brazil has the greatest fish wealth in the world, this diversity is threatened by several anthropic impacts, with the river bus being one of the most important. The knowledge of reproductive periods and areas of spawning and growth is extremely important for the conservation of fish, such information can subsidize the delimitation of priority areas for conservation, assisting management actions performed by federal or state entities. Considering that the traditional taxonomy has limitations in the identification of eggs and larvae seeing that eggs have not diagnostic characters at any stage and the larvae present very few diagnostic characters formed, the use of molecular identification of species using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, has been shown to be a highly effective tool for the identification of eggs and larvae. how this technique presents high cost and laboratory time, metabarcoding techniques are being developed (massive sequencing of a pool of organisms) to solve this problem. The objective of this project is to identify fish spawning and growth areas in the Mogi-Guaçu river basin, with the identification of all individuals collected through the DNA metabarcoding technique. The results will be very useful in the basis of more effective management actions for the conservation of the Mogi-Guacu ichthyofauna and will also serve as a model for future studies in this area of research. (AU)

Academic Publications

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

COSTA, Gabriela Omura da. Improvement of the DNA metabarcoding protocol for application in the identification of priority areas for the conservation of the ichthyofauna of the Mogi-Guaçu river. 2021. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Botucatu Botucatu.