The developmental genetic basis of a remarkable genital innovation

• Grant number: 19/27475-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 13, 2021
• End date: September 12, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Tatiana Teixeira Torres
• Grantee: Bruno Celso Feltrin Genevcius
• Supervisor: Luis Fernando Casares Fernandez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/18184-4 - EVOLUTION OF GENITAL COMPLEXITY: AN EVO-DEVO APPROACH USING PENTATOMIDS AS MODELS, BP.PD

Abstract

Genitalia perform a pivotal functional task in animals of internal fertilization, without which successful mating cannot be achieved. A consequence of the direct involvement of genitalia in reproduction is that they are often the first traits to diverge in speciation. At the evolutionary scale, this process translates into extremely high evolutionary rates and unprecedented levels of convergence. Despite this functional and evolutionary importance, we still have poor knowledge of the proximate causes behind the emergence of completely novel genital traits. Therefore, how genital complexity escalates through the course of evolution is still a major puzzle. In this context, an evo-devo approach is ideal for identifying the molecular mechanisms that may originate, constrain, and bias genitalic evolution. In this project, we propose to identify the genetic developmental bases of the emergence of a completely novel genital trait in the lineage of the predator stink bugs (Asopinae): the origin of the pseudoclaspers. This system offers an illustrative example of a remarkable novel genital structure associated with a complete reformulation of the functional system in copula. In a phylogenetic context, we will combine high throughput sequencing and high resolution in-situ hybridizations of asopine and non-asopine genitalia to ask the following questions: is the emergence of a novel genital structure facilitated by small or drastic changes in the identity, timing, and location of gene expression during development? What is the diversity of developmental pathways that may be recruited from other developmental contexts in the process? With this project, we expect to enlighten the processes underlying the evolution of genital complexity and complex phenotypic as a whole. (AU)