Description of the pulmonary anatomy of Squamata embryos

• Grant number: 23/02695-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Wilfried Klein
• Grantee: Barbara de Godoi Champini
• Supervisor: Emma R. Schachner
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Florida, Gainesville (UF), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/04926-4 - Evolution of the respiratory system in Squamata, BP.MS

Abstract

Reptiles exhibit a remarkable diversity of lung morphologies, with most lepidosaurs possessing a unicameral lung. The presence of a unicameral lung in amphibians and lepidosaurs supported the idea that all lung types of greater complexity evolved from an ancestral unicameral lung. However, a recent investigation demonstrates that the early embryonic stages of the unicameral lung of Paroedura picta (Gekkota) resemble those of other multi-chambered lung amniotes, which suggests that the lung structures observed in Lepidosauria may be the result of a secondary simplification that occurred along the group's evolutionary history. Therefore, the study of the lung structure during the embryonic phase can provide important information for understanding the development of the respiratory system in the different taxa of the group and, consequently, help to elucidate evolutionary questions. BEPE's current proposal consists of a six-month internship under the supervision of Dr. Emma R. Schachner at the University of Florida, USA. The initial stages of embryonic development of six species of Squamata will be scanned using µCT, segmented, and the organ reconstructed in 3D to assess the presence of multichambered stages as observed in Paroedura picta. (AU)