The effect of colony translocation on meliponaries of Melipona scutellaris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from northeastern Brazil by morphogeometric analysis

This study investigated the morphometric variation in Melipona scutellaris stingless bees rational hive boxes from five states, inserted into the natural range of the species occurrence in northeastern Brazil.  The cluster analysis (UPGMA) showed three distinct groups by determining the cutoff point. The multivariate analysis were performed using MANOVA and Canonical Variables for the shape analysis. The One-Way ANOVA was used to assess differences in centroid size. The results showed population divergence between localities limited by geographical barriers or great distances, corroborating previous observations by the UPGMA. Variation between colonies inter-state was higher that intra-state and, in most cases, Geometric Morphometrics was effective in identifying the origin of colonies transported to other states, observed in the cross-validation analysis that showed more than 70% of classification accuracy. Geometric Morphometrics could be used to evaluate the introduction of colonies within the kindred meliponary.  Natural populations of Melipona scutellaris show a significant variation, which brings important implications to meliponiculture and to conservation strategies for this endangered species

Efficient, fast and low-cost strategies for DNA extraction from different nucleated sheep cells

DNA extraction is usually the first step to perform molecular studies. This process can be nonviable due to genomic DNA (gDNA) extraction commercial kits prices. Furthermore, available DNA extraction protocols generally have high specificity, limiting their use to specific sources of biological material. In order to reduce costs, optimize time and laboratory logistics, besides to demonstrate a versatile protocol, the present study worked on an efficient DNA extraction protocol from somatic and non-somatic cells, using biological material from sheep as a model. For that, gDNA was extracted from whole blood, spermatozoa, and hair bulb cells, collected from three adult sheep, transported at 5ºC and stored at -20ºC until lab procedures. After extraction, gDNA concentration and purity were evaluated in a nano spectrophotometer. gDNA concentration from whole blood was greater (p < 0.05) than extracted from hair bulb cells, which in turn was superior (p < 0.05) than in spermatozoa. Also, gDNA from whole blood and, followed by, sperm showed greater (p < 0.05) purity when compared to gDNA of hair bulb cells. Adapting a gDNA extraction protocol, originally developed for bovine whole blood, enabled to obtain and isolate gDNA in different nucleated sheep cell