Evaluation of genetic variability in the collared peccary Pecari tajacu and the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari by microsatellite markers

In this study, the microsatellite technique was used to evaluate the genetic variability in populations of collared and white-lipped peccaries kept in captivity. Six primers developed for domestic pigs were used and amplified in both species. They revealed the presence of five polymorphic loci and one monomorphic locus. The polymorphic loci included 4 of the 16 alleles in collared peccaries, and 3 of the 10 alleles in the white-lipped peccaries. Polymorphic information content (PIC) in both species and all the loci was highly informative. The probability of paternity exclusion (PEC), if one of the parents is known, was almost as high in white-lipped peccaries (95.53%) as in the collared (99,48%). The Fst values for collared (0.042) and white-lipped (0.1387) peccaries showed that both populations are not structured. The Fis values for all loci, except ACTG2 in white-lipped peccaries (-0.0275) and in both species (0.1985 to 0.9284 in collared peccaries and 0.3621 to 0.4754 in the white-lipped), revealed a high level of homozygosis, probably caused by inbreeding. Data on heterologous amplification and genetic variability in collared and white-lipped peccaries are presented for the first time

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis (Jordan & Rothschild) (Siphonaptera: Rhopalopsyllidae, Rhopalopsyllinae), um Novo Registro no Brasil

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis s. l. (Jordan & Rothschild) is recorded for the first time from Brazil in the municipalities of Capão da Canoa, Tramandaí and Osório, RS. New host records for this flea include Ctenomys flamarioni (Travi) and Ctenomys minutus (De Blainville). Morphological variations were also observed among the flea specimens collected on the same species of host at the same municipality, evidencing some hybridization between the two subspecies and disabling the determination of the subspecific status. The number of known species of Brazilian Siphonaptera is now 60.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis (Jordan & Rothschild) (Siphonaptera: Rhopalopsyllidae, Rhopalopsyllinae), um Novo Registro no Brasil

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis s. l. (Jordan & Rothschild) is recorded for the first time from Brazil in the municipalities of Capão da Canoa, Tramandaí and Osório, RS. New host records for this flea include Ctenomys flamarioni (Travi) and Ctenomys minutus (De Blainville). Morphological variations were also observed among the flea specimens collected on the same species of host at the same municipality, evidencing some hybridization between the two subspecies and disabling the determination of the subspecific status. The number of known species of Brazilian Siphonaptera is now 60.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Genomic Organization of Microsatellites and LINE-1- like Retrotransposons: Evolutionary Implications for Ctenomys minutus (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae) Cytotypes

Simple Summary In animals, several species contain substantial chromosomal and genomic variation among their populations, but as to what could have driven such diversification is still a puzzle for most cases. Here, we used molecular cytogenetic analysis to expose the main genomic elements involved in the population variation observed in the Neotropical underground rodents of the genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae), which harbor the most significant chromosomal variation among mammals (2n = 10 to 2n = 70). These data provide evidence for a correlation between repetitive genomic content and localization of evolutionary breakpoint regions (EBRs) and highlight their direct impact in promoting chromosomal rearrangements. Abstract The Neotropical underground rodents of the genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae) comprise about 65 species, which harbor the most significant chromosomal variation among mammals (2n = 10 to 2n = 70). Among them, C. minutus stands out with 45 different cytotypes already identified, among which, seven parental ones, named A to G, are parapatrically distributed in the coastal plains of Southern Brazil. Looking for possible causes that led to such extensive karyotype diversification, we performed chromosomal mapping of different repetitive DNAs, including microsatellites and long interspersed element-1 ( LINE-1 ) retrotransposons in the seven parental cytotypes. Although microsatellites were found mainly in the centromeric and telomeric regions of the chromosomes, different patterns occur for each cytotype, thus revealing specific features. Likewise, the LINE-1 -like retrotransposons also showed a differential distribution for each cytotype, which may be linked to stochastic loss of LINE-1 in some populations. Here, microsatellite motifs (A) 30 , (C) 30 , (CA) 15 , (CAC) 10 , (CAG) 10 , (CGG) 10 , (GA) 15 , and (GAG) 10 could be mapped to fusion of chromosomes 20/17, fission and inversion in the short arm of chromosome 2, fusion of chromosomes 23/19, and different combinations of centric and tandem fusions of chromosomes 22/24/16. These data provide evidence for a correlation between repetitive genomic content and localization of evolutionary breakpoints and highlight their direct impact in promoting chromosomal rearrangements

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis (Jordan & Rothschild) (Siphonaptera: Rhopalopsyllidae, Rhopalopsyllinae), um Novo Registro no Brasil

Polygenis (Polygenis) platensis s. l. (Jordan & Rothschild) is recorded for the first time from Brazil in the municipalities of Capão da Canoa, Tramandaí and Osório, RS. New host records for this flea include Ctenomys flamarioni (Travi) and Ctenomys minutus (De Blainville). Morphological variations were also observed among the flea specimens collected on the same species of host at the same municipality, evidencing some hybridization between the two subspecies and disabling the determination of the subspecific status. The number of known species of Brazilian Siphonaptera is now 60.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

The influence of fire and livestock grazing on the assemblage of non-flying small mammals in grassland-Araucaria Forest ecotones, southern Brazil

Grazing and fire, used in pasture regeneration practices, are inter-related activities in livestock management. Both activities affect habitat characteristics by changing the structure of the herbaceous and shrubby vegetation, reducing their biomass and litter cover. This study evaluated the effect of fire and livestock grazing on the assemblage of non-flying small mammals in grassland-Araucaria forest ecotones in southern Brazil. We compared four areas frequently affected by livestock management with four protected areas. Surveys were carried out in four sampling periods, one in each season of 2004. We captured a total of 325 individuals from 12 species of rodents - Akodon montensis Thomas, 1913, Akodon paranaensis Christoff, Fagundes, Sbalqueiro, Mattevi e Yonenaga-Yassuda, 2000, Akodon sp. 1, Akodon sp. 2 (2n = 34), Brucepattersonius iheringi (Thomas, 1896), Delomys dorsalis (Hensel, 1872), Oligoryzomys flavescens (Waterhouse, 1837), Oligoryzomys nigripes (Olfers, 1818), Oxymycterus nasutus (Waterhouse, 1837), Scapteromys sp. (2n = 34), Sooretamys angouya (Fischer, 1814) and Thaptomys nigrita (Lichtenstein, 1829) - and two species of marsupials - Monodelphis dimidiata (Wagner, 1847) and Philander frenatus (Olfers, 1818) -, in a total effective effort of 5254 traps.day-1. The abundance, biomass and diversity of non-flying small mammals were significantly higher in the protected areas than in those affected by fire and livestock grazing. Species strictly associated with grassland habitats were not found in the impacted area. These results indicate that the presence of herds of domestic ungulates negatively affect the assemblage of non-flying small mammals in grassland and Araucaria forest areas in southern Brazil