The recent emergence of brackets in the coasts of the Rio Parana rosarinas ago looking back to the world that lives beneath the waters . According to the researcher Silvia account Arranz IBR -CONICET , it is estimated that in this region Paraná blanket over 200 species of fish, even though the exact number is not known because not all have been characterized in depth. For this reason, a group led by Arranz IBR blown from the Platform of Aquatic Biotechnology lines of research to identify local species and understand the diversity of their populations using molecular markers .
The research team is involved in an international project called iBOL (International Barcode of Life) which aims to identify all species of animals, plants and fungi the world through a DNA barcoding and locate them geographically. In this context, Arranz with his group has already achieved 80 fish species cataloged the Lower Paraná that are currently part of the global database .
To identify a specimen is enough to get your DNA from a small piece of tissue and sequence a region of one of its genes. “In the case of animals, the DNA sequence corresponding to a mitochondrial gene and is a barcode on the species that is unique,” says researcher and adds “if you get the DNA of an individual and analyzes this sequence may know what species this is using the reference sequence library generated . ” Arranz argues that ” this barcode helps taxonomy -science traditionally deals with classification of biodiversity- ranking individuals with similar morphologies .”
Thus, with the participation of scientists in different parts of the planet , is compiling a global map of the species . ” The database is accessible online then you can track whether you identified the species corresponds to those reported in other regions of the world and see what genetic similarity exists, whether or not there is variability among populations ,” says Arranz .
Furthermore, the research highlights the potential barcode given in terms of traceability as only a small sample of the individual can be known about what species it is . “For example, in the United States, studies of the content of the tea bags were made. It is difficult to know what is in them by the size of its particles , but with Barcoding studies could be seen containing not only tea but also other vegetables, ” illustrates the researcher.
To participate iBOL project, researchers working in collaboration with the Provincial Museum of Natural Sciences Angel Gallardo , since the specimens used for the study should be kept in a collection so that they are available if other scientists wishing do further analysis .
The genetics of native fish
Platform Team Aquatic Biotechnology genomic scale works in native species used for commercial cultivation as pacu , surubí, vogue and silverside from the study of molecular markers . ” Molecular markers are DNA sequences that vary from one individual to another and differentiate them through these small changes ,” says Dr. Andrew Sciara , a member of the research group .
Bookmarks allow you to do analysis to detect kinship affiliation and two fish or two families are related. “When fish are grown is important not to cross related individuals , because that pup mortality occurs bringing economic losses ,” says Arranz .
” The markers are tools for both production and conservation ,” says the researcher. In the latter sense , the markers allow to observe the genetic variability which has a population that is what gives you the ability to adapt to environmental changes and survive, and that is also an indicator of the impact of overfishing and pollution on it.
Dr. Sciara mind that there are also molecular markers ” serve to genetic selection for traits of interest in fish farming .” By statistical associations can know if a particular marker is related to some property of the animal, eg weight, length or disease resistance . Specifically, Sciara is dedicated to the study of molecular markers associated with traits such as growth and tolerance to low temperatures that are of interest to the intensive cultivation of native fish.
Currently , the research group is working with the Government of the Province of Santa Fe and Northeast Aquaculture Cluster transferring knowledge gained in the laboratory to industry. In addition, researchers involved in the creation of the ” Aquarium of the Parana River ,” a project to address its rich ecosystem from the scientific , technological and educational view.
Research Group: Aquatic Biotechnology Platform
Director: Silvia Arranz
Scientists: Dario Krapf, Andrés Sciara
Postdoctoral Fellow: Vanina Villanova
Doctoral fellows: Ignacio Simo, Juan Diaz, Enrique Morales, Florenia Folledo
Undergraduate students: Mariano Fagiani, Paula Maidagan, Victoria Posner
SOURCE:
CCT Rosario http://www.rosario-conicet.gov.ar/noticias2.php?id=300
