Elementos de transposição no gênero Zaprionus (Diptera, Drosophilidae): estudos genômicos e evolutivos em ênfase nos retrotensposons copia, gypsy e micropia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise de sequências da região intergência ITS-1 do rDNA em espécies de Drosophila do cluster buzzatti, (complexo Buzzatti, subgrupo Mullerri, grupo Repleta). -

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização do padrão de esterases de espécies de Drosophila de grupo saltans (subgênero Sophophora) e sua aplicação ao estudo da filogenia e à identificação de espécies

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

Inventário dos Drosofilídeos (Diptera) associados a frutos, na Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, Melgaço, Pará, Brasil

O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a diversidade de Drosophilidae (Diptera) frugívoros, da Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, Melgaço, Pará, Brasil, através da implementação de um protocolo estruturado. Entre 2003 e 2004 foram realizadas duas expedições, onde procederam-se coletas com armadilhas contendo isca de banana fermentada, distribuídas em 12 transectos de 1 km, sendo dois deles em cada um dos seis interflúvios ao norte da baía de Caxiuanã, na Estação Científica Ferreira Pena, FLONA Caxiuanã. Foi obtido um total de 4.320 indivíduos, distribuídos em 35 táxons, pertencentes aos gêneros Drosophila, em sua maioria, e Neotanygastrella. A espécie dominante foi D. willistoni com 33,96% dos indivíduos coletados, seguido por D. paulistorum (21,94%), D. sturtevanti (18,73%), D. tropicalis (11,39%) e D. equinoxiahs (37%). Cinco espécies cosmopolitas do grupo melanogaster ocorreram em Caxiuanã, porém a freqüência do grupo foi apenas de 1,75%. As curvas de acumulação de espécies, com 315 amostras, aproximaram-se da assíntota, com estimativas que variaram entre 40 e 53 espécies para Caxiuanã. O estimador Chao2 produziu curvas que chegaram a estabilização, com estimativa de 50 espécies. As análises da matriz de incidência e abundância mostraram que os sítios são similares entre si, compartilhando entre 40% e 66% em composição (Jaccard), com distribuições de abundância praticamente iguais (Morisita entre 85% e 100%). O percentual de completitude do inventário (79%) indica que seriam necessárias somente 83 amostras adicionais (21% de incremento de esforço, sem adição de singletons), para acessar a diversidade total de Drosophilidae na FLONA Caxiuanã. Estes resultados refletem bem a eficiência do método utilizado para estimar diversidade de drosofilídeos de frutos. Das 23 espécies do subgênero Sophophora, identificadas nesse estudo, foram registradas 4 novas ocorrências para o Brasil (D. dacunhai, D. mil/cri, D. saltans e D. septentriosaltans) e 8 para Amazônia brasileira (D. austrosaltans, D. dacunhai, D. magalhaesi, D. milleri, D. neocordata, D. neoelhptica, D. saltam e D. septentriosaltans).

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)

Produtividade em espécies de Drosophila do subgrupo saltans (grupo saltans, subgênero Sophophora): efeitos da infecção por Wolbachia em linhagens normais e introgredidas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Differences in larval nutritional requirements and female oviposition preference reflect the order of fruit colonization of Zaprionus indianus and Drosophila simulans

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Associations among genotype, clinical phenotype, and intracellular localization of trafficking proteins in ARC syndrome

Arthrogryposisrenal dysfunctioncholestasis (ARC) syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive multisystem disorder caused by mutations in vacuolar protein sorting 33 homologue B (VPS33B) and VPS33B interacting protein, apicalbasolateral polarity regulator (VIPAR). Cardinal features of ARC include congenital joint contractures, renal tubular dysfunction, cholestasis, severe failure to thrive, ichthyosis, and a defect in platelet alpha-granule biogenesis. Most patients with ARC do not survive past the first year of life. We report two patients presenting with a mild ARC phenotype, now 5.5 and 3.5 years old. Both patients were compound heterozygotes with the novel VPS33B donor splice-site mutation c.1225+5G>C in common. Immunoblotting and complementary DNA analysis suggest expression of a shorter VPS33B transcript, and cell-based assays show that c.1225+5G>C VPS33B mutant retains some ability to interact with VIPAR (and thus partial wild-type function). This study provides the first evidence of genotypephenotype correlation in ARC and suggests that VPS33B c.1225+5G>C mutation predicts a mild ARC phenotype. We have established an interactive online database for ARC (https://grenada.lumc.nl/LOVD2/ARC) comprising all known variants in VPS33B and VIPAR. Also included in the database are 15 novel pathogenic variants in VPS33B and five in VIPAR. Hum Mutat 33:16561664, 2012. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Human Homologue of Drosophila Patched (PTCH) in Dental Follicles of Impacted Third Molars

This study investigated the immunodetection of PTCH in epithelial components of dental follicles associated with impacted third molars without radiographic signs of pathosis. One hundred and five specimens of dental follicles associated with impacted third molars with incomplete rhizogenesis (between Nolla's stage 6 and 9) were surgically removed from 56 patients. Epithelial cell proliferation was determined by using immunohistochemical labeling. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher exact test and a level of significance of 5%. Of the 105 dental follicles collected, 3 were PTCH-positive. The specimens with squamous metaplasia and epithelial hyperplasia had higher rates of positivity for PTCH, as well as those with active remnants of odontogenic epithelium. This study suggests that the odontogenic cells of the dental follicle might be proliferating during the rhizogenesis, while the squamous metaplasia and hyperplasia of the epithelial lining and proliferative odontogenic epithelial rests show the differentiation potential of dental follicles.

Fhos encodes a Drosophila Formin-Like Protein participating in autophagic programmed cell death

Larval tissues undergo programmed cell death (PCD) during Drosophila metamorphosis. PCD is triggered in a stage and tissue-specific fashion in response to ecdysone pulses. The understanding of how ecdysone induces the stage and tissue-specificity of cell death remains obscure. Several steroid-regulated primary response genes have been shown to act as key regulators of cellular responses to ecdysone by inducing a cascade of transcriptional regulation of late responsive genes. In this article, the authors identify Fhos as a gene that is required for Drosophila larval salivary gland destruction. Animals with a P-element mutation in Fhos possess persistent larval salivary glands, and precise excisions of this P-element insertion resulted in reversion of this salivary gland mutant phenotype. Fhos encodes the Drosophila homolog of mammalian Formin Fhos. Fhos is differentially transcribed during development and responds to ecdysone in a method that is similar to other cell death genes. Similarly to what has been shown for its mammalian counterpart, FHOS protein is translocated to the nucleus at later stages of cell death. Fhos mutants posses disrupted actin cytoskeleton dynamics in persistent salivary glands. Together, our data indicate that Fhos is a new ecdysone-regulated gene that is crucial for changes in the actin cytoskeleton during salivary gland elimination in Drosophila. genesis 50:672684, 2012. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Crossing over does occur in males of Drosophila ananassae from natural populations

Spontaneous crossing over in males of Drosophila ananassae has been well demonstrated using F-1 individuals from crosses between marker stocks and wild type strains. However, the question of its occurrence in males from natural populations remained open. Here we present the cytological evidence that crossing over does occur in males of D. ananassae from two Brazilian populations, sampled nearly 21 years apart, and in two recently sampled populations, one from Indonesia and one from Okinawa, Japan. Cytological analysis of meiosis in males collected from nature and in sons of females from the same population inseminated in nature revealed the presence of chiasmata, inversion chiasmata, and isosite chromosome breakages in the diplotene cells in all sampled populations. These data demonstrate that reciprocal and nonreciprocal exchanges and chromosome breakages, previously reported as related events of male crossing over, do occur at variable frequencies among males from natural populations.

Species of Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) attracted to dung and carrion baited pitfall traps in the Uruguayan Eastern Serranías

This study investigates the species richness and abundance of Drosophila Fallén, 1823 attracted to dung and carrion baited pitfall traps in natural areas with heterogeneous habitats at the Sierra de Minas, Eastern Serranías, southeastern Uruguay. Collecting was carried out on a monthly basis (May 2002 through April 2003). Drosophilids accounted for 0.84% (n = 131) and 3.61% (n = 158) of the Diptera collected from dung (n = 15,630) and carrion (n = 4,382) pitfall traps, respectively. A total of 12 species were identified, 11 of which belong to the subgenus Drosophila (the richest) and one to the subgenus Sophophora Sturtevant, 1939. Over 90% of the Drosophila specimens collected belong to five species of the subgenus Drosophila, namely D. gaucha Jaeger & Salzano, 1953, D. immigrans Sturtevant, 1921, D. mediovittata Frota-Pessoa, 1954, D. aff. nappae Vilela, Valente & Basso-da-Silva, 2004, and D. ornatifrons Duda, 1927. Drosophila cardini Sturtevant, 1916 is recorded for the first time from Uruguay. Drosophila abundance and species richness in the four habitats sampled in the Uruguayan Eastern Serranías, namely woodlands sierra, riparian forest, pine plantation and grazing grassland, were considered to be a function of habitat conservation. Diversity indices were low in all habitats. Different habitats supported particular coprophilous and necrophilous Drosophila species. The woodland sierra represents the most preserved habitat, and contributed with the highest species richness observed. Drosophila ornatifrons was the dominant species, with a restricted habitat distribution. On the other hand, grazed grassland, an environment modified by livestock management, had the lowest species richness: only a few specimens of D. repleta Wollaston, 1858. Regarding species composition, significant differences were found in some pairwise comparisons of groups of Drosophila species that included D. ornatifrons. Fly attraction to dung can be exploited as an alternative and/or complementary collecting method in ecological studies of Drosophila assemblages in natural areas.