Molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae)

• Grant number: 06/06634-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2007
• End date: June 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Maria José de Jesus Silva
• Grantee: Ana Paula Zampieri Silva de Pietri
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The genus Leptodactylus is included in the Leptodactylidae family (Amphibia, Anura), which also encompasses Hydrolaetare, Paratelmatobius e Scythrophrys. The Leptodactylus species are widespread from the Southeastern North America, throughout South America and West Indies. Based on morphological and ecological traits, four groups are recognized: L. melanonotus, L. ocellatus, L. pentadactylus and L. fuscus. Within these groups, however, cryptic speciation has occurred with no morphological or call differentiation. Although karyotypes of 30 species of Leptodactylus have been described, most of these studies were restricted to the description of diploid number and chromosome morphology, based exclusively on conventional staining. Inter and intra-populational as well as inter and intra specific differences were revealed by the light of banding pattern studies, which have contributed to the taxonomy and systematics of the genus. Molecular phylogeny is still a poorly explored approach on the genus Leptodactylus. In this project, karyotypic and molecular data will be used in order to investigate the limit of species and the evolutionary lineages reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Leptodactylus.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PAIVA, C. R.; NASCIMENTO, J.; SILVA, A. P. Z.; BERNARDE, P. S.; ANANIAS, F.. Karyotypes and Ag-NORs in Phyllomedusa camba De La Riva, 1999 and P. rhodei Mertens, 1926 (Anura, Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae): cytotaxonomic considerations. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, v. 77, n. 1, p. 116-121, 2010. (06/06634-8)

GRUBER, SIMONE LILIAN; ZAMPIERI SILVA, ANA PAULA; BAPTISTA HADDAD, CELIO FERNANDO; KASAHARA, SANAE. Cytogenetic analysis of Phyllomedusa distincta Lutz, 1950 (2n=2x=26), P. tetraploidea Pombal and Haddad, 1992 (2n=4x=52), and their natural triploid hybrids (2n=3x=39) (Anura, Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae). BMC GENETICS, v. 14, AUG 30 2013. (13/07358-8, 08/50928-1, 06/06634-8)