Evolution of ploidy in amphibians

• Grant number: 21/13323-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Vanessa Kruth Verdade
• Grantee: Cecília Maria da Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/12658-4 - Challenges to the conservation of amphibians and squamate reptiles, with emphasis on the Brazilian fauna: from basic information to conservation actions, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

Polyploidization events are characterized by the repeated increase in the set of chromosomes of an organism. The advantage of these events, when not impeding or disrupting developmental pathways, is increased genotypic variation, mutation rates, and genetic redundancy. The enhanced diversification among eukaryotes has been at least partially to polyploidization, and although uncommon in the Metazoa, many cases of polyploidy are recognized in anuran amphibians. Our goal is to test if these events played an important role in the diversification of the group. The origin of polyploidy has been related to the presence of stressors, and exposure to these stressors may be related to the geographic occurrence and ecology of the species. The hypothesis proposed is that species with wide distribution, aquatic tadpoles developing in lentic environments in open areas are those in which polyploidy occurs more frequently. To test this hypothesis, we will use phylogenetic reconstruction methods. We will verify how polyploidy events are distributed in the Anura phylogeny and make a comparison with the frequency of occurrence of polyploidy in other amphibian groups. Our results will allow us to answer whether polyploidy is a recurrent event in Anura or inherited from a common ancestor. Furthermore, we will discuss whether polyploidy is more frequent in groups with specific ecological characteristics, which are these characteristics, and compare them with the results obtained for the other orders of Lissamphibia (AU)