Disentangling the veil line for Brazilian biodiversity: An overview from two long-term research programs reveals huge gaps in ecological data reporting.

The lack of synthesized information regarding biodiversity is a major problem among researchers, leading to a pervasive cycle where ecologists make field campaigns to collect information that already exists and yet has not been made available for a broader audience. This problem leads to long-lasting effects in public policies such as spending money multiple times to conduct similar studies in the same area. We aim to identify this knowledge gap by synthesizing information available regarding two Brazilian long-term biodiversity programs and the metadata generated by them.

Venom characterization of the Brazilian Pampa snake Bothrops pubescens by top-down and bottom-up proteomics.

The envenomation from the Bothrops genus is characterized by systemic and local effects caused by the main toxin families in the venom. In Bothrops pubescens venom we were able to identify 89 protein groups belonging to 13 toxin families with the bottom-up proteomics approach and 40 unique proteoforms belonging to 6 toxin families with the top-down proteomics approach. We also identified multi-proteoform complexes of dimeric L-amino acid oxidase using native top-down mass spectrometry.

Modulation of the cholinergic pathway induced by skin secretion of Phyllomedusa iheringii Boulenger, 1885 in a vertebrate model.

Amphibians represent one of the main natural sources of bioactive molecules of interest to biotechnological research. The Phyllomedusidae family has several species occurring in Brazil and some studies demonstrate the biological potential of poisons of these species, however many still need to be characterized. Phyllomedusa iheringii is endemic in Brazilian and Uruguayan Pampa Biome and has little data in the literature regarding the action of its poison on experimental organisms.

Effects of mancozeb on heat Shock protein 70 (HSP70) and its relationship with the thermal physiology of Physalaemus henselii (Peters, 1872) tadpoles (Anura: Leptodactylidae).

Negative impacts on amphibians have been reported due to contamination by agrochemicals. However, until now, no study has tested the effect of the fungicide mancozeb (MZ) on thermal tolerance and its relationship with the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs). MZ is the best-selling broad-spectrum fungicide in the world, which negatively affects non-target organisms.

Chemical and functional analyses of Rhinella icterica (Spix, 1824) toad secretion screened on contractions of the heart and oviduct in Locusta migratoria.

Rhinella icterica is a Brazilian toad with a parotoid secretion that is toxic to insects. In this work, we examined the entomotoxicity of this secretion in locust (Locusta migratoria) semi-isolated heart and oviduct preparations in vitro. The parotoid secretion caused negative chronotropism in semi-isolated heart preparations (at the highest dose tested: 500 μg) and markedly enhanced the amplitude of spontaneous contractions and tonus of oviduct muscle (0.

Who's afraid of the big bad boar? Assessing the effect of wild boar presence on the occurrence and activity patterns of other mammals.

Wild boar are considered one the world's worst invasive species and linked to biodiversity loss, competition for resources, predation of native species, and habitat modifications. In this study, we use camera traps to evaluate whether the invasive wild boar had an effect on the medium-sized mammal community of a protected area in southern Brazil. Based on photographic records, we evaluated whether the presence and relative abundance of wild boar was associated with a decrease in diversity or change in activity of medium-sized mammals.

Chemical and Pharmacological Screening of (Spix 1824) Toad Parotoid Secretion in Avian Preparations.

The biological activity of parotoid secretion (RIPS) and some of its chromatographic fractions (RI18, RI19, RI23, and RI24) was evaluated in the current study. Mass spectrometry of these fractions indicated the presence of sarmentogenin, argentinogenin, (5,12)-12,14-dihydroxy-11-oxobufa-3,20,22-trienolide, marinobufagin, bufogenin B, 11α,19-dihydroxy-telocinobufagin, bufotalin, monohydroxylbufotalin, 19-oxo-cinobufagin, 3α,12,25,26-tetrahydroxy-7-oxo-5-cholestane-26--sulfate, and cinobufagin-3-hemisuberate that were identified as alkaloid and steroid compounds, in addition to marinoic acid and -methyl-5-hydroxy-tryptamine. In chick brain slices, all fractions caused a slight decrease in cell viability, as also seen with the highest concentration of RIPS tested.

Entomotoxic activity of Rhinella icterica (Spix, 1824) toad skin secretion in Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches: An octopamine-like modulation.

Rhinella icterica is a poisonous toad whose toxic secretion has never been studied against entomotoxic potential. Sublethal doses of Rhinella icterica toxic secretion (RITS) were assayed in Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches, in order to understand the physiological and behavioral parameters, over the insect central and peripheral nervous system. RITS (10 μg/g) injections, induced behavioral impairment as evidenced by a significant decrease (38 ± 14%) in the distance traveled (p < .

Mechanism of Rhinella icterica (Spix, 1824) toad poisoning using in vitro neurobiological preparations.

The biological activity of Rhinella icterica toxic secretion (RITS) was evaluated on chick neuromuscular junctions, rat heart́s tissue and mice hippocampal slices. At chick biventer cervicis preparation, RITS (5, 10 and 20μg/mL) produced a concentration-independent irreversible neuromuscular blockade, which was preceded by a transitory increase of muscle twitch tension with the lowest concentration, in 120min recordings. In this set of experiments, RITS incubation partially prevented the curare neuromuscular blockade.

An UV-sensitive anuran species as an indicator of environmental quality of the Southern Atlantic Rainforest.

The Southern Atlantic rainforest is continuously suffering from wood extraction activity, which results in the increase of clearings within the forest. Although the direct impacts of deforestation on landscape are already well described, there is an absence of studies focused on the evaluation of its indirect effects, such as the increase of solar UV radiation levels inside forest environment and its consequences for forest specialist anuran species. The results presented in this work clearly show that the threatened tree frog species Hypsiboas curupi presents severe traits of sensitivity to UV wavelengths of sunlight, making it a vulnerable species to this environmental stressor, as well as a biological indicator of the quality of forest canopy coverage.