Phylomitogenomics of two Neotropical species of long-legged crickets Endecous Saussure, 1878 (Orthoptera: Phalangopsidae).

Mitochondrial genomes have provided significant insights into the evolution of several insects. A typical mitogenome contains 37 genes, and variations in gene order can indicate evolutionary relationships between species. In this study, we have assembled the first complete mitogenomes of Endecous chape and E.

Canavalia ensiformis lectin induced oxidative stress mediate both toxicity and genotoxicity in Drosophila melanogaster.

Mannose/glucose-binding lectin from Canavalia ensiformis seeds (Concanavalin A - ConA) has several biological applications, such as mitogenic and antitumor activity. However, most of the mechanisms involved in the in vivo toxicity of ConA are not well known. In this study, the Drosophila melanogaster model was used to assess the toxicity and genotoxicity of different concentrations of native ConA (4.

Study of four Neotropical species of tree crickets Oecanthus Serville, 1831 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) using cytogenetic and molecular markers.

Karyotypes in the worldwide subfamily Oecanthinae show variations in diploid number, chromosome morphology, and sex-chromosome system. This study described the chromosome set and phylogenetic relationships of four Neotropical species, Oecanthus lineolatus, O. valensis, O.

Evolutionary history and classification of Micropia retroelements in Drosophilidae species.

Transposable elements (TEs) have the main role in shaping the evolution of genomes and host species, contributing to the creation of new genes and promoting rearrangements frequently associated with new regulatory networks. Support for these hypotheses frequently results from studies with model species, and Drosophila provides a great model organism to the study of TEs. Micropia belongs to the Ty3/Gypsy group of long terminal repeats (LTR) retroelements and comprises one of the least studied Drosophila transposable elements.

Evolution of DNMT2 in drosophilids: Evidence for positive and purifying selection and insights into new protein (pathways) interactions.

The DNA methyltransferase 2 (DNMT2) protein is the most conserved member of the DNA methyltransferase family. Nevertheless, its substrate specificity is still controversial and elusive. The genomic role and determinants of DNA methylation are poorly understood in invertebrates, and several mechanisms and associations are suggested.

Combining morphology and molecular data to improve Drosophila paulistorum (Diptera, Drosophilidae) taxonomic status.

The willistoni species subgroup has been the subject of several studies since the latter half of the past century and is considered a Neotropical model for evolutionary studies, given the many levels of reproductive isolation and different evolutionary stages occurring within them. Here we present for the first time a phylogenetic reconstruction combining morphological characters and molecular data obtained from 8 gene fragments (COI, COII, Cytb, Adh, Ddc, Hb, kl-3 and per). Some relationships were incongruent when comparing morphological and molecular data.

Linking epigenetic function to electrostatics: The DNMT2 structural model example.

The amino acid sequence of DNMT2 is very similar to the catalytic domains of bacterial and eukaryotic proteins. However, there is great variability in the region of recognition of the target sequence. While bacterial DNMT2 acts as a DNA methyltransferase, previous studies have indicated low DNA methylation activity in eukaryotic DNMT2, with preference by tRNA methylation.

A new species of the genus (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and redescription of five species from Neotropical region.

The genus Rhinoleucophenga Hendel comprises 29 nominal species with New World distribution. In the present study five species are redescribed: R. angustifrons Malogolowkin; R.

The New World genus Rhinoleucophenga (Diptera: Drosophilidae): new species and notes on occurrence records.

The genus Rhinoleucophenga Hendel comprises 26 nominal species with New World distribution. In the present study, two new species are described from samples in the Pampa and Caatinga biomes in Brazil, R. punctuloides sp.

Chromosomal evolution in the Drosophila cardini group (Diptera: Drosophilidae): photomaps and inversion analysis.

Detailed chromosome photomaps are the first step to develop further chromosomal analysis to study the evolution of the genetic architecture in any set of species, considering that chromosomal rearrangements, such as inversions, are common features of genome evolution. In this report, we analyzed inversion polymorphisms in 25 different populations belonging to six neotropical species in the cardini group: Drosophila cardini, D. cardinoides, D.

Cytogenetic mapping of the Muller F element genes in Drosophila willistoni group.

Comparative genomics in Drosophila began in 1940, when Muller stated that the ancestral haploid karyotype of this genus is constituted by five acrocentric chromosomes and one dot chromosome, named A to F elements. In some species of the willistoni group such as Drosophila willistoni and D. insularis, the F element, instead of a dot chromosome, has been incorporated into the E element, forming chromosome III (E + F fusion).

Embryogenesis of Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae): a contribution to the anatomical development of an evo-devo model organism.

This study reports on the embryogenesis of Heliconius erato phyllis between blastoderm formation and the prehatching larval stage. Syncytial blastoderm formation occurred approximately 2 h after egg laying (AEL) and at about 4 h, the cellular blastoderm was formed. The germ band arose from the entire length of the blastoderm, and rapidly became compacted occupying approximately two-thirds of the egg length.

High diversity of Drosophilidae (Insecta, Diptera) in the Pampas Biome of South America, with descriptions of new Rhinoleucophenga species.

In the last three decades some faunal surveys of Drosophilidae have been done in several environments in the Neotropical region, especially in Brazil. But approximately 30 to 50% of the drosophilids in Brazil have not yet been described, and the degradation of some biomes causes a profound loss of species diversity, as well as the loss of information about the present structureof their communities. This is the situation with the pampas biome, which covers southernmost Brazil, all of Uruguay, and the central region of eastern Argentina.

Reevaluating the infection status by the Wolbachia endosymbiont in Drosophila Neotropical species from the willistoni subgroup.

Infections by the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia developed a rapid global expansion within Old World Drosophila species, ultimately infecting also Neotropical species. In this sense, screenings are necessary to characterize new variants of Wolbachia or new hosts, and also in order to map the dynamics of already known infections. In this paper, we performed a double screening approach that combined Dot-blot and PCR techniques in order to reevaluate the infection status by Wolbachia in species from the willistoni subgroup of Drosophila.

Wolbachia pipientis is associated with different mitochondrial haplotypes in natural populations of Drosophila willistoni.

The prevalence of the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis and its effects on mitochondrial genetic diversity were analyzed in natural populations of Drosophila willistoni, a neotropical species recently infected. Total infection rate was 55% and no evidence was found that the Wolbachia infection decreased the diversity of mtDNA. Wolbachia was seen to be associated with different mitochondria, suggesting multiple horizontal transmission events and/or transmission paternal leakage of mitochondrial and/or Wolbachia.

Sex-specific methylation in Drosophila: an investigation of the Sophophora subgenus.

Epigenetic phenomena have been widely characterized in the genomes of vertebrates and DNA methylation is a key mechanism of epigenetic regulation. The DNA methylation systems of invertebrates and vertebrates show several notable differences. However, the evolutionary implications of those differences only recently began to be revealed.

The hobo transposon and hobo-related elements are expressed as developmental genes in Drosophila.

Transposable elements comprise a significant part of genomes and are involved in their evolvability. The hobo element is found as an active class II transposable element in Drosophila melanogaster that is able to induce gonadal dysgenesis. Some hobo-related sequences (hRSs) are thought to be relics of old "hobo" invasions, and are therefore ancient genomic constituents.

Characterization of mitochondrial control region, two intergenic spacers and tRNAs of Zaprionus indianus (Diptera: Drosophilidae).

The control region in insects is the major noncoding region in animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and is responsible for a large part of the variation in the DNA sequence and size of the genome of this organelle. In this study, the mtDNA control region, two intergenic spacers and tRNA genes of a Zaprionus indianus strain were cloned, sequenced and compared with other Drosophila species. The overall A+T content in the Z.

First evidence of methylation in the genome of Drosophila willistoni.

DNA methylation has been studied abundantly in vertebrates and recent evidence confirms that this phenomenon could be disseminated among some invertebrates groups, including Drosophila species. In this paper, we used the Methylation-Sensitive Restriction Endonuclease (MSRE) technique and Southern blot with specific probes, to detect methylation in the Drosophila willistoni species. We found differential cleavage patterns between males and females that cannot be explained by Mendelian inheritance, pointing to a DNA methylation phenomenon different from the Drosophila melanogaster one.