Barcoding and metabarcoding of reef-associated species of the São Paulo coastal islands

• Grant number: 24/09214-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Rodrigues Domingues
• Grantee: Eduarda Valério de Jesus
• Supervisor: Naiara Guimaraes Sales
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Salford, Manchester, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/14631-1 - Multilocus DNA barcode of marine species not represented in sequences database: subsidies for DNA metabarcoding off the São Paulo coast, BP.IC

Abstract

Porifera and Cnidaria are two phyla that represent fundamental organisms for the marine ecosystem. Sponges play a crucial ecological role due to their filtration system that absorbs carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen from the environment, influencing water quality. On the other hand, cnidarians exhibit a high species diversity with an important role in maintaining ecological balance, mainly due to coral reefs, an important ecosystem with high species density and diversity in the ocean, contributing to increased ecological relationships among organisms. Therefore, continuous monitoring of these phyla is crucial to maintaining ecological balance and ensuring a healthy ecosystem. Currently, various approaches are employed to monitor marine biodiversity, including biomonitoring 2.0. This method utilizes environmental DNA (eDNA) along with the metabarcoding technique, enabling the identification of multiple species simultaneously through sequencing and comparison with base sequences from genomics databases. To achieve this, we require an updated sequence reference database that comprehensively covers a wide range of species in the study area. Thus, this BEPE project has two aims: (i) sequencing the DNA barcode of species not represented in the reference database, (ii) gaining experience in lab work preparing metabarcoding library preparation and sequencing. After this period abroad, it will be possible to develop and enrich databases through barcoding of tissue samples from São Paulo coast species, consequently, enhancing the biomonitoring 2.0 technique to advance the monitoring of species from the phyla under study.