Genetic Data Showing Evolutionary Links between Leishmania and Endotrypanum

Striking similarities at the morphological, molecular and biological levels exist between many trypanosomatids isolated from sylvatic insects and/or vertebrate reservoir hosts that make the identification of medically important parasites demanding. Some molecular data have pointed to the relationship between some Leishmania species and Endotrypanum, which has an important epidemiological significance and can be helpful to understand the evolution of those parasites. In this study, we have demonstrated a close genetic relationship between Endotrypanum and two new leishmanial species, L. (V.) colombiensis and L. (V.) equatorensis. We have used (a) numerical zymotaxonomy and (b) the variability of the internal transcribed spacers of the rRNA genes to examine relationships in this group. The evolutionary trees obtained revealed high genetic similarity between L. (V.) colombiensis, L. (V.) equatorensis and Endotrypanum, forming a tight cluster of parasites. Based on further results of (c) minicircle kDNA heterogeneity analysis and (d) measurement of the sialidase activity these parasites were also grouped together.

Genetic characterization of morphologically variant strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Molecular characterization of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis variant strains that had been preserved under mineral oil for decades was carried out by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD). On P. brasiliensis variants in the transitional phase and strains with typical morphology, RAPD produced reproducible polymorphic amplification products that differentiated them. A dendrogram based on the generated RAPD patterns placed the 14 P. brasiliensis strains into five groups with similarity coefficients of 72%. A high correlation between the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the strains was observed. A 750 bp-RAPD fragment found only in the wild-type phenotype strains was cloned and sequenced. Genetic similarity analysis using BLASTx suggested that this RAPD marker represents a putative domain of a hypothetical flavin-binding monooxygenase (FMO)-like protein of Neurospora crassa.

Genetic structure of populations of Pissodes castaneus (De Geer) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) using amplified fragment length polymorphism

Genetic structure of populations of Pissodes castaneus (De Geer) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) using amplified fragment length polymorphism. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic structure of populations of Pissodes castaneus from different areas and on different species of Pinus using the PCR-AFLP technique. Twenty samples were analyzed, representing 19 populations from Brazil and one from Florence, Italy, which is the region of origin of P. castaneus. The four combinations of primers generated a total of 367 fragments of DNA, and 100% of polymorphic loci, indicating high degree of molecular polymorphism. The dendrogram did not reveal trends for grouping the populations in relation to origin. The low genetic similarity (0.11 between the most distant groups) and genetic distances of 0.13 and 0.44 for 10 out of the 20 samples may indicate several founding events or multiple introductions of heterogeneous strains into Brazil. The allelic fixation index (Fst) was 0.3851, considered high, and the number of migrants (Nm) was 0.3991, indicating low gene flow among populations. The highest genetic distances were between the population from Irani, SC and Cambará do Sul, RS and Bituruna, PR, indicating an independent founding event or a particular allelic fixation in the former location. The high genetic diversity among populations points out that the populations are genetically heterogeneous with a diverse gene pool in the surveyed areas, what makes them to respond differently to control measures.

Genetic distance estimated by RAPD markers and its relationship with hybrid performance in maize

The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic diversity of 16 maize inbred lines, and to determine the correlation between genetic distance and hybrid performance, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) molecular markers. Twenty-two different random primers were used, which resulted in the amplification of 265 fragments, 237 (84.44%) of them being polymorphic. A genetic similarity matrix was created from the RAPD data, using Jaccard coefficient, and a dendrogram was constructed. Hybrid analyses were carried out using random block design and Griffing method VI for diallel crossings. The genetic associations showed five distinct heterotic groups. Correlations between genetic divergences detected by RAPD, as well as the means observed in the diallel crossings were positive and significant for plant height, ear height, prolificacy, and grain weight. The correlation of genetic divergences, detected by RAPD, and the specific combining ability between heterotic group associations, showed significance in all characteristics under study, except prolificacy. A direct relationship between genetic divergence and productivity was found in 79.2% of the 120 hybrids confirming the hypothesis that genetic divergence is directly related to the performance of hybrids and is efficient in predicting it.

Genetic characterization of ninety elite soybean cultivars using coefficient of parentage

The objective of this work was to estimate the coefficient of parentage and to understand the genetic structure of 90 elite soybean cultivars, which are adapted to different Brazilian environments. A total of 4,005 coefficients of parentage (f) were obtained and used to group the cultivars by UPGMA method. The constructed dendrogram showed several related cultivar groups which shared similar ancestors and clearly showed the genetic structure of the main Brazilian cultivars. Effective population sizes (Ne) were also estimated for cultivars in different generations. The average f = 0.2124 value, obtained from cultivars classified into four decades according to the release year, suggested effective soybean population sizes of 11 and 13 calculated using arithmetic and weighted means, respectively. The relatively small Ne and the high parentage coefficient support the conclusion that there is a high similarity degree among the main soybean cultivars in Brazil.

Diversity and genetic struture in cajá tree (spondias mombin l.) populations in northeastern Brazil

Spondias mombin L. is a fruit tree from the American continent from the Anacardiaceae family. In Brazil it is common in different vegetation types but is more frequent in the Atlantic and Amazonian rainforests. It is economically important because of its fruits, which are widely consumed raw or processed as fruit jellies, juices and ice creams. The leaves have great importance in the pharmaceutical industry because of their antibacterial properties. In the state of Pernambuco, cajá tree is widely distributed in the Zona da Mata region and less frequently in the Agreste and Sertão areas. In this work diversity and genetic structure were studied in four populations of cajá tree from Pernambuco's Zona da Mata, Northeast Brazil, using isozymes polymorphism analyses from electrophoreses. The result showed 100% of polymorphism (P) for nine alleles and the average of alleles per locus s was 2.4. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.530 to 0.574 and the observed heterozygosity , from 0.572 to 0.735. It was not observed inbreeding and the average F IT was -0.175, whereas within population inbreeding (f) varied from -0.08 to- 0.37. The genetic divergence among the populations (F ST) ranged from 0.006 to 0.028 and the average was 0.026. The average of estimated gene flow (Nm) was high (5.27). The CG-IPA population, corresponding to the germplasm collection of IPA, showed more than 96% of genetic similarity with other populations; therefore, it is a good representative of the existent genetic diversity in the Zona da Mata region.

RAPD analysis of genetic variability in a multiprovenance base population of Eucalyptus grandis hill ex maiden

This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variability among individuals of a base population of Eucalyptus grandis and to build a molecular marker database for the analyzed populations. The Eucalyptus grandis base population comprised 327 individuals from Coff's Harbour, Atherton and Rio Claro. A few plants came from other sites (Belthorpe MT. Pandanus, Kenilworth, Yabbra, etc.). Since this base population had a heterogeneous composition, the groups were divided according to geographic localization (latitude and longitude), and genetic breeding level. Thus, the influence of those two factors (geographic localization and genetic breeding level) on the genetic variability detected was discussed. The RAPD technique allowed the evaluation of 70 loci. The binary matrix was used to estimate the genetic similarity among individuals using Jaccard's Coefficient. Parametric statistical tests were used to compare within-group similarity of the means. The obtained results showed that the base population had wide genetic variability and a mean genetic similarity of 0.328. Sub-group 3 (wild materials from the Atherton region) showed mean genetic similarity of 0.318. S.P.A. (from Coff's Harbour region) had a mean genetic similarity of 0.322 and was found to be very important for maintenance of variation in the base population. This can be explained since the individuals from those groups accounted for most of the base population (48.3% for it). The base population plants with genetic similarity higher than 0.60 should be phenotypically analyzed again in order to clarify the tendency of genetic variability during breeding programs.

Genetic variation and evolutionary divergence within and among populations, species, and genera of the Cambarinae

Seven crayfish species from three genera of the subfamily Cambarinae were electrophoretically examined for genetic variation at a total of twenty-six loci. Polymorphism was detected primarily at three loci: Ao-2, Lap, and Pgi. The average heterozygosities over-all loci for each species were found to be very low when compared to most other invertebrate species that have been examined electrophoretically. With the exception of Cambarus bartoni, the interpopulation genetic identities are high within any given species. The average interspecific identities are somewhat lower and the average intergeneric identities are lower still. Populations, species and genera conform to the expected taxonomic progression. The two samples of ~ bartoni show high genetic similarity at only 50 percent of the loci compared. Locus by locus identity comparisons among species yield U-shaped distributions of genetic identities. Construction of a phylogenetic dendrogram using species mean genetic distances values shows that species grouping is in agreement with morphological taxonomy with the exception of the high similarity between Orconectespropinquus and Procambarus pictus. This high similarity suggests the possibility of a regulatory change between the two species. It appears that the low heterozygosities, high interpopulation genetic identities, and taxonomic mispositioning can all be explained on the basis of low mutation rates.

RAPD analysis of genetic variability in a multiprovenance base population of Eucalyptus grandis hill ex maiden

Este estudo visou avaliar a variabilidade e distância genética dentro de uma população-base de melhoramento genético de Eucalyptus grandis. A avaliação da variabilidade genética tem como objetivos principais analisar a base genética da população-base e montar um banco de dados marcadores moleculares da população em análise. Essa população é formada por 327 indivíduos, principalmente das procedências de Coff's Harbour, Atherton e Rio Claro. Devido à heterozigosidade natural dessa população, ela pode ser dividida em diversas subpopulações, de acordo com a latitude e longitude de origem; e dentro de subpopulações, em função do grau de melhoramento genético já realizado do material analisado no Brasil. Isso permitiu avaliar quanto da variabilidade detectada dentro da população-base foi devido a esses fatores: procedência e grau de melhoramento. A aplicação da técnica RAPD permitiu avaliar 70 locos polimórficos, que foram analisados utilizando-se o coeficiente de Jaccard, o que resultou em matrizes de similaridade genética entre os indivíduos. Os dados de similaridade genética posteriormente foram submetidos à análise estatística. Osdados indicaram que a população-base apresenta ampla base genética, com média de similaridade genética de 0,328. O subgrupo denominado Região 3, composto por material selvagem da macrorregião de Atherton, juntamente com material de APS da macrorregião de Coff's Harbour, foi um dos que mais contribuíram para a ampla base genética da população-base. Foi possível detectar diferença estatística entre as populações selvagens das procedências de Atherton e Coff's Harbour, assim como entre essas procedências e a de Rio Claro.

Assessment of genetic relationship between Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca samples isolated from a dental office

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Genetic characterization of Brazilian annual Arachis species from sections Arachis and Heteranthae using RAPD markers

The genus Arachis is divided into nine taxonomic sections. Section Arachis is composed of annual and perennial species, while section Heteranthae has only annual species. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic relationships among 15 Brazilian annual accessions from Arachis and Heteranthae using RAPD markers. Twenty-seven primers were tested, of which nine produced unique fingerprintings for all the accessions studied. A total of 88 polymorphic fragments were scored and the number of fragments per primer varied from 6 to 17 with a mean of 9.8. Two specific markers were identified for species with 2n = 18 chromosomes. The phenogram derived from the RAPD data corroborated the morphological classification. The bootstrap analysis divided the genotypes into two significant clusters. The first cluster contained all the section Arachis species, and the accessions within it were grouped based upon the presence or absence of the 'A' pair and the number of chromosomes. The second cluster grouped all accessions belonging to section Heteranthae.

Genetic structure in a tropical lek-breeding bird, the blue manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Determining the genetic structure of tropical bird populations is important for assessing potential genetic effects of future habitat fragmentation and for testing hypotheses about evolutionary mechanisms promoting diversification. Here we used 10 microsatellite DNA loci to describe levels of genetic differentiation for five populations of the lek-mating blue manakin (Chiroxiphia caudata), sampled along a 414-km transect within the largest remaining continuous tract of the highly endangered Atlantic Forest habitat in southeast Brazil. We found small but significant levels of differentiation between most populations. F-ST values varied from 0.0 to 0.023 (overall F-ST = 0.012) that conformed to a strong isolation by distance relationship, suggesting that observed levels of differentiation are a result of migration-drift equilibrium. N(e)m values estimated using a coalescent-based method were small (<= 2 migrants per generation) and close to the minimum level required to maintain genetic similarity between populations. An implication of these results is that if future habitat fragmentation reduces dispersal between populations to even a small extent, then individual populations may undergo a loss of genetic diversity due to an increase in the relative importance of drift, since inbreeding effective population sizes are relatively small (N-e similar to 1000). Our findings also demonstrate that population structuring can occur in a tropical bird in continuous habitat in the absence of geographical barriers possibly due to behavioural features of the species.

Virulence profile of ten Paracoccidioides brasiliensis isolates: association with morphologic and genetic patterns

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

RAPID analysis reveals genetic variability among sexual and apomictic Paspalum dilatatum poiret biotypes

Paspalum dilatatum is a valuable forage grass in the subtropics. This species consists of several sexual (tetraploid) and apomict (penta- and hexaploid) biotypes. It has been proposed that the presence of a genome of unknown origin, the X genome, is responsible for apomixis in penta- and hexaploid biotypes. Here we evaluated the utility of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers for discriminating sexual and apomictic P dilatatum biotypes. DNA samples from nine accessions, including P. intermedium, P. juergensh, and P dilatatum (ssp. flavescens, and the common and Uruguayan biotypes) were analyzed with 86 RAPID primers. Three hundred sixty-two fragments were scored and genetic similarity estimates revealed that the penta- and hexaploid biotypes were highly similar (S,, greater than or equal to 0.913). Forty RAPDs were unique to the penta- and hexaploid biotypes. Overall RAPID markers were useful for assessing genetic variation among closely related P dilatatum genotypes as well as generating putative X genome markers.

Genetic diversity of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville determined by AFLP molecular markers

Bark extracts of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart) Coville a Leguminosae species, well known in Brazil as barbatimao, are popularly used as healing agent. The objective of this work was to determine the genetic diversity of S. adstringens populations and to correlate genetic distances to the production of tannins. S. adstringens accessions from populations found in Cerrado regions in the states of Goias, Minas Gerais and São Paulo were analyzed using the AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) technique. A total of 236 polymorphic bands were scored and higher proportion of genetic diversity was found inter populations (70.9%), rather than intra populations (29.1%). F-ST value was found to be significantly greater than zero (0.2906), demonstrating the complex genetic structure of S. adstringens populations. Accessions collected in Cristalina, GO, showed higher percentage of polymorphic loci (87.3%) and the highest genetic diversity. The lowest genetic variability was detected among accessions from the population growing in Caldas Novas, GO. The genetic distance among populations was estimated using the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), which grouped populations into 3 clusters. Moreover, chemotypes with tannin concentration above 40% showed higher genetic similarity. AFLP analysis proved to be an efficient gene mapping technique to determine the genetic diversity among remaining populations of S. adstringens. Obtained results may be employed to implement further strategies for the conservation of this medicinal plant. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.