The American stingless bees species have been used in management and breeding practices by local civilizations since the pre-Columbian era. Currently, many of these species are managed commercially and maintained in meliponaries. However, divergences exist among authors about the ecological utility of these practices. Some argue that meliponaries could serve to maintain local biodiversity while others argue that they have the opposite effect. Due to pressure from beekeepers and environmentalists there are efforts to draft specific rules that legislate production and market focusing on conservating native bees. In recent years, these norms have become more specific due to the use of empirical data from the scientific community and demands from social groups and producers. This paper presents a revision on Brazilian legislation as well its applicabilities and proposes alterations in the Environmental Crimes Law.

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Evolutionary processes related to climatic changes and ecological factors, such as microhabitat affinities and food specialization, can be important contributors to phylogeographic discordance between codistributed and related species. Here, we evaluate the evolutionary histories of two cactophilic and codistributed Drosophila species (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from South America, Drosophila antonietae and Drosophila meridionalis, where they use mainly Cereus hildmaniannus (Cactoideae: Cereeae) as host, using mitochondrial DNA sequences and species distribution modeling. The diversification of both species was estimated during the Pleistocene. For both species, the distribution of suitable areas through the Last Glacial period to the present showed a similar dynamic from Andes Valley through east and through the Paraná-Paraguay river basin to the Atlantic coastline. The current distribution of D. antonietae was influenced by demographic expansion and putative migration route from northwest to south and then to coast, with two genetic incipient groups with bidirectional genetic flow between them. For D. meridionalis, we suggested a migration route from south to north as well as to coast, with three genetic groups deeply structured with no evidence of demographic expansion. Our comparative results showed that the Quaternary paleoclimatic dynamic has had a similar role in both species (displacement of the high suitability areas) with similar routes but in different directions. Additionally, the Araucaria forest represents a putative biogeographic barrier for Drosophila species and also for host C. hildmaniannus. The phylogeographical differences between these species related to geographical distribution, genetic structure, and demographic history could be explained for differences to adaptation and plasticity to explore a new host.

Social stingless bees have been manipulated by man since the pre-European civilization era; management practices include artificial colony division/multiplication and nest transport. We evaluated the effects of common management practices on the genetic diversity of Melipona quadrifasciata within its native range in southern Brazil. The proposed research hypotheses are: 1) Genetic diversity in meliponaries reflects natural variation and population genetic structuring; 2) Migrant nests can be identified; 3) Meliponaries in which colonies are artificially divided suffer from inbreeding. We employed microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers to test these hypotheses. The genetic diversity in our sample was compatible with that of feral populations investigated by other researchers, although this diversity was heterogeneously distributed. We observed that meliponaries subjected to intensive colony multiplication exhibited signs of inbreeding. We also found haplotypes of various origins in meliponaries into which colonies had been introduced, which affected local diversity and resulted in the homogenization of allele frequencies in various regions. Although no genetic structuring was observed, a clinal genetic differentiation was found based on microsatellite markers. The mtDNA analyses showed geographic displacement of the queens, in addition to the introduction of haplotypes from the southeastern region of the country. Population differentiation and isolation by distance could not be used to effectively delimit management units based on natural gene flow. We suggest that efforts to preserve genetic diversity should focus on regulating management practices, allowing gene flow only via natural vegetation fragments, and that diversity management should focus on local regions, reflecting geographic and sociopolitical scenarios already utilized in other environmentally oriented natural population management plans.

Drosophila antoneitae is a cactophilic species, ovipositing primarily in the host cacti Cereus hildmaniannus. Both species are found in drained soils or rocky outcrops in the Missiones region-one of the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) nucleis, and in south Brazilian coast. The Missiones nuclei comprises the basin of the Paraná-Paraguai Rivers and it is a possible area of climatic stability during the Quaternary oscillations. To evaluate the current distribution of the genetic diversity of D. antoneitae and its association with landscape modifications, the following analyses were performed: populational structure, establishment of phylogeographic hypotheses and demographic events, neutrality tests and paleoecological niche modeling. The mitochondrial gene COI and the nuclear gene period were analyzed. The gene period had low genetic diversity and an homogeneity on the distribution of genetic variability. For gene COI analysis we found a high polymorphism and genetic structure among populations, forming three groups: one in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, another in Paraná and São Paulo and the third in the midwestern Brazil. The midwestern population is probably the oldest one, coinciding with the most climatically stable area of this study. This group forms a network of separate haplotypes, due to a high structuring and isolation, probably with Paraná River acting as major barrier for gene flow. We suggest that the possible center of dispersion of the remaining populations of D. antonietae is located in southeastern Brazil, and there were several migration events to other regions of its distribution. There is evidence of shared polymorphism due to recent diversification of populations. Both gene clusters exhibit signs of population expansion, especially in border areas at the Missiones nuclei, where the climate seems less stable. The demographic expansion period is recent and coincides with the major expansion of dry vegetation, which can also play a critical role in structuring populations.

Background Brazil has been dramatically hit by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and is a world leader in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Additionally, the largest country of Latin America has been a continuous source of SARS-CoV-2 variants and shows extraordinary variability of the pandemic strains probably related to the country´s outstanding position as a Latin American economical and transportation hub. Not all regions of the country show sufficient infrastructure for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and genotyping which can negatively impact the pandemic response. Methods Due to this reason and to disburden the diagnostic system of the inner São Paulo State, the Butantan Institute established the Mobile Laboratory (in Portuguese: LabMovel) for SARS-CoV-2 testing which started a trip of the most important “hotspots” of the most populous Brazilian region. The LabMovel initiated in two important cities of the State: Aparecida do Norte (an important religious center) and the Baixada Santista region which incorporates the port of Santos, the busiest in Latin America. The LabMovel was fully equipped with an automatized system for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and sequencing/genotyping. It also integrated the laboratory systems for patient records and results divulgation including in the Federal Brazilian Healthcare System. Results Currently,16,678 samples were tested, among them 1,217 from Aparecida and 4,564 from Baixada Santista. We tracked the delta introductio in the tested regions with its high diversification. The established mobile SARS-CoV-2 laboratory had a major impact on the Public Health System of the included cities including timely delivery of the results to the healthcare agents and the Federal Healthcare system, evaluation of the vaccination status of the positive individuals in the background of exponential vaccination process in Brazil and scientific and technological divulgation of the fieldwork to the most vulnerable populations. Conclusions The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demonstrated worldwide the importance of science to fight against this viral agent and the LabMovel shows that it is possible to integrate researchers, clinicians, healthcare workers and patients to take rapid actions that can in fact mitigate this and other epidemiological situations.