Characterization of Hepatozoon spp. in Leptodactylus chaquensis and Leptodactylus podicipinus from two regions of the Pantanal, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Embriologia de Nymphaea L. (Nymphaeales - Nymphaeaceae): implicações para a evolução inicial das angiospermas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses of Oidium heveae, a powdery mildew of rubber tree

Powdery mildew of rubber tree caused by Oidium heveae is an important disease of rubber plantations worldwide. Identification and classification of this fungus is still uncertain because there is no authoritative report of its morphology and no record of its teleomorphic stage. In this study, we compared five specimens of the rubber powdery mildew fungus collected in Malaysia, Thailand, and Brazil based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Morphological results showed that the fungus on rubber tree belongs to Oidium subgen. Pseudoidium. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the large subunit rRNA gene (28S rDNA) were conducted to determine the relationships of the rubber powdery mildew fungus and to link this anamorphic fungus with its allied teleomorph. The results showed that the rDNA sequences of the two specimens from Malaysia were identical to a specimen from Thailand, whereas they differed by three bases from the two Brazilian isolates: one nucleotide position in the ITS2 and two positions in the 28S sequences. The ITS sequences of the two Brazilian isolates were identical to sequences of Erysiphe sp. on Quercus phillyraeoides collected in Japan, although the 28S sequences differed at one base from sequences of this fungus. Phylogenetic trees of both rDNA regions constructed by the distance and parsimony methods showed that the rubber powdery mildew fungus grouped with Erysiphe sp. on Q. phillyraeoides with 100% bootstrap support. Comparisons of the anamorph of two isolates of Erysiphe sp. from Q. phillyraeoides with the rubber mildew did not reveal any obvious differences between the two powdery mildew taxa, which suggests that O. heveae may be an anamorph of Erysiphe sp. on Q. phillyraeoides. Cross-inoculation tests are required to substantiate this conclusion. © The Mycological Society of Japan and Springer-Verlag 2005.

Is The amphibian tree of life really fatally flawed?

Wiens (2007, Q. Rev. Biol. 82, 55-56) recently published a severe critique of Frost et al.'s (2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 297, 1-370) monographic study of amphibian systematics, concluding that it is a disaster and recommending that readers simply ignore this study. Beyond the hyperbole, Wiens raised four general objections that he regarded as fatal flaws: (1) the sampling design was insufficient for the generic changes made and taxonomic changes were made without including all type species; (2) the nuclear gene most commonly used in amphibian phylogenetics, RAG-1, was not included, nor were the morphological characters that had justified the older taxonomy; (3) the analytical method employed is questionable because equally weighted parsimony assumes that all characters are evolving at equal rates; and (4) the results were at times clearly erroneous, as evidenced by the inferred non-monophyly of marsupial frogs. In this paper we respond to these criticisms. In brief: (1) the study of Frost et al. did not exist in a vacuum and we discussed our evidence and evidence previously obtained by others that documented the non-monophyletic taxa that we corrected. Beyond that, we agree that all type species should ideally be included, but inclusion of all potentially relevant type species is not feasible in a study of the magnitude of Frost et al. and we contend that this should not prevent progress in the formulation of phylogenetic hypotheses or their application outside of systematics. (2) Rhodopsin, a gene included by Frost et al. is the nuclear gene that is most commonly used in amphibian systematics, not RAG-1. Regardless, ignoring a study because of the absence of a single locus strikes us as unsound practice. With respect to previously hypothesized morphological synapomorphies, Frost et al. provided a lengthy review of the published evidence for all groups, and this was used to inform taxonomic decisions. We noted that confirming and reconciling all morphological transformation series published among previous studies needed to be done, and we included evidence from the only published data set at that time to explicitly code morphological characters (including a number of traditionally applied synapomorphies from adult morphology) across the bulk of the diversity of amphibians (Haas, 2003, Cladistics 19, 23-90). Moreover, the phylogenetic results of the Frost et al. study were largely consistent with previous morphological and molecular studies and where they differed, this was discussed with reference to the weight of evidence. (3) The claim that equally weighted parsimony assumes that all characters are evolving at equal rates has been shown to be false in both analytical and simulation studies. (4) The claimed strong support for marsupial frog monophyly is questionable. Several studies have also found marsupial frogs to be non-monophyletic. Wiens et al. (2005, Syst. Biol. 54, 719-748) recovered marsupial frogs as monophyletic, but that result was strongly supported only by Bayesian clade confidence values (which are known to overestimate support) and bootstrap support in his parsimony analysis was < 50%. Further, in a more recent parsimony analysis of an expanded data set that included RAG-1 and the three traditional morphological synapomorphies of marsupial frogs, Wiens et al. (2006, Am. Nat. 168, 579-596) also found them to be non-monophyletic.Although we attempted to apply the rule of monophyly to the naming of taxonomic groups, our phylogenetic results are largely consistent with conventional views even if not wth the taxonomy current at the time of our writing. Most of our taxonomic changes addressed examples of non-monophyly that had previously been known or suspected (e.g., the non-monophyly of traditional Hyperoliidae, Microhylidae, Hemiphractinae, Leptodactylidae, Phrynobatrachus, Ranidae, Rana, Bufo; and the placement of Brachycephalus within Eleutherodactylus, and Lineatriton within Pseudoeurycea), and it is troubling that Wiens and others, as evidenced by recent publications, continue to perpetuate recognition of non-monophyletic taxonomic groups that so profoundly misrepresent what is known about amphibian phylogeny. (C) The Willi Hennig Society 2007.

The amphibian tree of life

The evidentiary basis of the currently accepted classification of living amphibians is discussed and shown not to warrant the degree of authority conferred on it by use and tradition. A new taxonomy of living amphibians is proposed to correct the deficiencies of the old one. This new taxonomy is based on the largest phylogenetic analysis of living Amphibia so far accomplished. We combined the comparative anatomical character evidence of Haas (2003) with DNA sequences from the mitochondrial transcription unit HI (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA and tRNA(Valine) genes, 2,400 bp of mitochondrial sequences) and the nuclear genes histone H3, rhodopsin, tyrosinase, and seven in absentia, and the large ribosomal subunit 28S (approximate to 2,300 bp of nuclear sequences; ca. 1.8 million base pairs; x ($) over bar = 3.7 kb/terminal). The dataset includes 532 terminals sampled from 522 species representative of the global diversity of amphibians as well as seven of the closest living relatives of amphibians for outgroup comparisons.

EthoSeq: A tool for phylogenetic analysis and data mining in behavioral sequences

This article introduces the software program called EthoSeq, which is designed to extract probabilistic behavioral sequences (tree-generated sequences, or TGSs) from observational data and to prepare a TGS-species matrix for phylogenetic analysis. The program uses Graph Theory algorithms to automatically detect behavioral patterns within the observational sessions. It includes filtering tools to adjust the search procedure to user-specified statistical needs. Preliminary analyses of data sets, such as grooming sequences in birds and foraging tactics in spiders, uncover a large number of TGSs which together yield single phylogenetic trees. An example of the use of the program is our analysis of felid grooming sequences, in which we have obtained 1,386 felid grooming TGSs for seven species, resulting in a single phylogeny. These results show that behavior is definitely useful in phylogenetic analysis. EthoSeq simplifies and automates such analyses, uncovers much of the hidden patterns of long behavioral sequences, and prepares this data for further analysis with standard phylogenetic programs. We hope it will encourage many empirical studies on the evolution of behavior.

Phylogenetic relationships among genera Eucalyptus and Corymbia species based on rnDNA internal transcribed spacers sequences

Phylogenetio relationships between Eucalyptus species, subgenus Symphyomyrtus (sections Adnataria, Exsertaria, Maldenaria, and Transversaria), and Corymbia species (sections Politaria and Ocharia) were established based on the sequence of Internal transcribed rDNA spacers (ITS1 and ITS2). The species analyzed were obtained from a collection kept in Brazil. Fragments obtained using primers ITS1 and ITS2 were sequenced and part of the sequence of ITS1 and ITS2 and the complete sequence of 5.8S rDNA were used in the analysis. ITSs and 5.8S rDNA sequences from E. globulus ssp. globulus and A. bakeri (Genus Angophora) were downloaded from the Genbank database and included in the analysis. Psidlum guajava was the selected outgroup used. The sequence alignment and a Neighbor-joining tree were obtained using Clustal X. Few variations were detected in the 5.8S rDNA sequences obtained, occurring mainly between Eucalyptus and Corymbia, thus defining these genera. Variations in ITS sequences occurred in all investigated species. Phylogenetic analysis showed a clear separation between the genera Corymbia and Eucalyptus. A bakeri was more closely related to species belonging to genus Corymbia. Regarding the subgenus Symphyomyrtus (Genus Eucalyptus), only species from section Maidenaria grouped together according to their common section. This could have been caused by the removal of natural reproductive barriers when these species were introduced In Brazil, with a consequent Increase in the rate of interspecific crossings and Introgression events.

Inter and intraspecific variation on reproductive phenology of the Brazilian Atlantic forest Rubiaceae: Ecology and phylogenetic constraints

The reproductive phenology of seven species of Rubiaceae from the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest was compared to evaluate the occurrence of phylogenetic constraints on flowering and fruiting phenologies. Since phenological patterns can be affected by phylogenetic constraints, we expected that reproductive phenology would be similar among plants within a family or genus, occurring during the same time (or season) of the year. Observations on flowering and fruiting phenology were carried out monthly, from December 1996 to January 1998, at Núcleo Picinguaba, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil. Nine phenological variables were calculated to characterize, quantify and compare the reproductive phenology of the Rubiaceae species. The flowering patterns were different among the seven species studied, and the Kruskal-Wallis test indicated significant differences in flowering duration, first flowering, peak flowering and flowering synchrony. The peaks and patterns of fruiting intensity were different among the Rubiaceae species studied and they differed significantly from conspecifics in the phenological variables fruiting duration, fruiting peak date, and fruiting synchrony (Kruskal-Wallis test). Therefore, we found no evidence supporting the phylogenetic hypotheses, and climate does not seem to constrain flowering and fruiting patterns of the Rubiaceae species in the understory of the Atlantic forest.

Molecular phylogenetic relationships and phenotypic diversity in miniaturized toadlets, genus Brachycephalus (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae)

Toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus are endemic to the Atlantic rainforests of southeastern and southern Brazil. The 14 species currently described have snout-vent lengths less than 18. mm and are thought to have evolved through miniaturization: an evolutionary process leading to an extremely small adult body size. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for Brachycephalus, using a multilocus approach based on two nuclear (Rag-1 and Tyr) and three mitochondrial (Cyt b, 12S, and 16S rRNA) gene regions. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using a partitioned Bayesian analysis of concatenated sequences and the hierarchical Bayesian method (BEST) that estimates species trees based on the multispecies coalescent model. Individual gene trees showed conflict and also varied in resolution. With the exception of the mitochondrial gene tree, no gene tree was completely resolved. The concatenated gene tree was completely resolved and is identical in topology and degree of statistical support to the individual mtDNA gene tree. On the other hand, the BEST species tree showed reduced significant node support relative to the concatenate tree and recovered a basal trichotomy, although some bipartitions were significantly supported at the tips of the species tree. Comparison of the log likelihoods for the concatenated and BEST trees suggests that the method implemented in BEST explains the multilocus data for Brachycephalus better than the Bayesian analysis of concatenated data. Landmark-based geometric morphometrics revealed marked variation in cranial shape between the species of Brachycephalus. In addition, a statistically significant association was demonstrated between variation in cranial shape and genetic distances estimated from the mtDNA and nuclear loci. Notably, B. ephippium and B. garbeana that are predicted to be sister-species in the individual and concatenated gene trees and the BEST species tree share an evolutionary novelty, the hyperossified dorsal plate. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

An assessment approach for application of spermatic data in phylogenetic analyses: Within the genus Moenkhausia Eigenmann, 1903 (Characiformes: Characidae)

Spermiogenesis and sperm ultrastructure from 21 species of Moenkhausia and others related genera are described. To evaluate the phylogenetic signals, 18 unordered characters were utilized in implied weighting analysis through the program TNT 1.1. Four variations of spermiogenesis were found. In the earliest spermatids, the nucleus can be positioned lateral, eccentric, strongly eccentric or nearly medial in relation to the distal centriole. The nuclear rotation can be present or absent. These spermiogenesis processes are related or intermediate to Type I and Type III. Taking into account the degrees of nuclear rotation during the spermiogenesis and other characteristics, distinct forms of spermatozoa are observed among the species analyzed. The phylogenetic analysis yielded a single most parsimonious tree with fit value 2.70000 and the topology obtained founds Moenkhausia as non-monophyletic. However, some hypothesis of relationships previously proposed viz the clade 20, which contains the type species Moenkhausia xinguensis, is recovered herein. This clade is supported by five synapomorphies, and it allows the supposition that these species constitute a monophyletic group. The whole topology is presented and discussed. © 2012 The Authors. Acta Zoologica © 2012 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The Usefulness of the Sting Apparatus in Phylogenetic Reconstructions in Vespids, with Emphasis on the Epiponini: More Support for the Single Origin of Eusociality in the Vespidae

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Male Terminalia and Its Application to Species Recognition and Phylogenetic Reconstruction in the Drosophila saltans Group

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

High Levels of Diversity Uncovered in a Widespread Nominal Taxon: Continental Phylogeography of the Neotropical Tree Frog Dendropsophus minutus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)