One of the greatest challenges in evolutionary biology, ecology and genetics is the unveil the drivers of individuals differences at different levels. Our team has supported Pedro Longo, in his PhD. project developed at University of Campinas (UNICAMP), to achieve this goal for a small marine invertebrate.
We used genome-wide and mitochondrial DNA markers and a geometric morphometric framework (to differentiate shape and size) of a rigid structure associated with associated with reproduction, copulation, and stabilization onto host macroalgae. Our findings indicate that the genetic variation we observed is likely related with past demographic expansions during late Pleistocene. However, current processes are also important. For instance, environmental differences, especially nutrient-related variables, explained the genetic distances we measured. Also, our results indicate that morphological differences were not genetic-related but associated to macroalgae size, probably due to phenotypic plasticity, a hypothesis that remains to be tested.
Curious!? The full article is available here or through GM's ResearchGate.
This research was part of Pedro Longo's PhD under the advisory of Dr. Fosca Pedini Pereira Leite and GM's 'informal' co-advisory. We were fortunate to be supported by FAPESP, JSPS and CAPES.