Project description:Using genome-wide information of Native Americans from Andes and Amazon we addressed questions about : the Andes-Amazon dichotomy, the Andean homogenization and how cultural and socioeconomic interactions revealed by archaeology were accompanied by gene flow, specifically in northern Peru. Moreover, this demographic history allowed for cases of positive natural selection in the high and arid Andes vs. the low Amazon tropical forest
Project description:Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas, or A. gigas) is a native fish species to Amazon basin and, economically important in the Brazilian Amazonian for its great potential to aquaculture. In the natural environment the A. gigas is captured only in the sustainable development reserves of the State of Amazonas by applying a system of rotation in fishing in order to avoid overfishing of this important fishing resource. The reproductive biology of A. gigas has long been intriguing; however, very little is known about the molecular pathways underlying their sexual differentiation and determination. Using the SOLiD sequencing platform, a total of 432,058,560 short sequencing reads were produced. An average of ~30% of sequencing reads could be mapped to Asian arowana reference cDNAs. 305 genes showed higher expression in female brain against 8 gene with higher expressing in male brain. In gonad, there are 120 genes higher expressed in female against 10 gene higher expressed in male.
Project description:Background: Bothrops atrox is known to be the pitviper responsible for most snakebites and human fatalities in the Amazon region. It can be found in a wide geographical area including the northern South America, the east of Andes and the Amazon basin. Possibly due to its wide distribution range and generalist feeding, intraspecific venom variation was reported by previous proteomics studies. Sex-based and ontogenetic variations on venom compositions of Bothrops snakes were also subject of proteomic and peptidomic analysis. However, the venom peptidome of B. atrox remains unknown. Methods: we conducted a mass spectrometry-based analysis of the venom peptides of individual male and female specimens combining bottom-up and top-down approaches. Results: We identified in B. atrox a total of 105 native peptides in the mass range of 0.4 to 13.9 kDa. Quantitative analysis showed that Phospholipase A2 and Bradykinin Potentiating Peptides were the most abundant peptide families in both genders, but the disintegrins levels were significantly increased in the venoms of females. Known peptides processed at non-canonical sites and new peptides were also revealed in this work. Conclusion: The venom peptidomes of male and female specimens of B. atrox were analyzed by mass spectrometry-based approaches in this work. The study points to differences in the disintegrin levels in the venoms of females that may result in distinct pathophysiology in envenomation. Further research is needed to explore its biological implications.
Project description:A study that explore the effects of natural selection in selected allopatric and sympatric populations of Theobroma cacao from the Amazon Basin
