Uncaria species are used in traditional medicine and are considered of high therapeutic value and economic importance. This work describes the assembly and annotation of the chloroplast genomes of U. guianensis and U. tomentosa, as well as a comparative analysis. The genomes were sequenced on MiSeq Illumina, assembled with NovoPlasty, and annotated using CHLOROBOX GeSeq. Addictionaly, comparative analysis were performed with six species from NCBI databases and primers were designed in Primer3 for hypervariable regions based on the consensus sequence of 16 species of the Rubiaceae family and validated on an in-silico PCR in OpenPrimeR. The genome size of U. guianensis and U. tomentosa was 155,505 bp and 156,390 bp, respectively. Both Species have 131 genes and GC content of 37.50%. The regions rpl32-ccsA, ycf1, and ndhF-ccsA showed the three highest values of nucleotide diversity within the species of the Rubiaceae family and within the Uncaria genus, these regions were trnH-psbA, psbM-trnY, and rps16-psbK. Our results indicates that the primer of the region ndhA had an amplification success for all species tested and can be promising for usage in the Rubiaceae family. The phylogenetic analysis recovered a congruent topology to APG IV. The gene content and the chloroplast genome structure of the analyzed species are conserved and most of the genes are under negative selection. We provide the cpDNA of Neotropical Uncaria species, an important genomic resource for evolutionary studies of the group.

Hymenaea stigonocarpa (Mart. Ex Hayne), popularly known as jatobá-do-cerrado, is a fruit tree widely distributed in the Brazilian Savanna, has multiple uses and is a promising genetic resource. This study aimed to physically characterize fruits and seeds of H. stigonocarpa, as well as to estimate the phenotypic variability at three hierarchical levels: populations, mother trees within populations, and fruits/seeds within mother trees. Fruits from six mother trees were sampled from each of the 25 natural populations found in the Brazilian Savanna. The morphometric characterization of 742 fruits was carried out by evaluating 10 quantitative traits in fruits and seeds. In addition, comparative analyses were performed between the average values of H. stigonocarpa and the botanical variety H. stigonocarpa var. brevipetiolata. Significant phenotypic variations were noticed at all hierarchical levels. A high phenotypic differentiation among the populations was observed for quantitative traits (fruit mass and size, pulp mass and seed mass), being higher when H. stigonocarpa var. brevipetiolata was included in the analysis.

Species Cichla piquiti and Cichla kelberi are found in the Serra da Mesa reservoir, Goiás and are sedentary with diurnal habits. This study aimed to evaluate the magnitude and distribution of genetic variability in subpopulations of C. piquiti with specific microsatellite loci and to test transferability in other microsatellite markers for C. kelberi. We analyzed 99 individuals of C. piquiti from seven points to evaluate genetic diversity and structure with 10 microsatellite loci. Transferability of 75 loci was tested in C. kelberi to increase microsatellite markers available. Genetic structure was assessed with Bayesian clustering. Global FST for C. piquiti was weak (0.056), but FIS (0.598) and FIT (0.621) were significantly high, indicating that the mating system has a strong influence on the organization of genetic variability with most mating among related. Two genetic groups were evidenced with most individuals allocated to a single group. Transferability of microsatellite loci for C. kelberi had low polymorphism. The level of genetic diversity was low, increasing inbreeding and suggesting that few individuals of C. piquiti colonized the reservoir during its installation due founder effect. Other factors as reproductive behavior and overfishing can act to decrease genetic diversity. Therefore, we reinforce the need for genetic monitoring to avoid loss of genetic diversity that can be intensified both construction of hydropower plants and ecological and reproductive aspects in some fish species.

A presente proposta de atividade envolve um assunto vinculado aos conceitos e métodos básicos da Genética de Populações, Ecologia Molecular e Genética da Conservação. Para atingir os objetivos de aprendizagem, este material didático pretende estimular nos estudantes a compreensão sobre como os processos biológicos reprodutivos e os mecanismos de hereditariedade contribuem para delinear estratégias conservacionistas. Para tanto, na atividade de aprendizagem há uma simulação que permite avaliar os genótipos das matrizes e dos filhotes de tartaruga- da-amazônia. Com isso, foi proposta uma situação problema a partir da simulação de dados genéticos, que devem ser utilizados para a inferência da existência de paternidade múltipla em ninhos de tartarugas-da-amazônia. A atividade tem como público-alvo os estudantes do ensino superior, que poderão compreender como os dados de marcadores moleculares podem ser utilizados na investigação da contribuição paterna em ninhos de tartaruga. Além disso, possibilita avaliar os possíveis desdobramentos e implicações dessas informações para o planejamento de projetos de manejo e conservação da espécie.

A descrição do cariótipo de uma espécie é importante para avaliar padrões genéticos referentes às estruturas e morfologias dos cromossomos e ao número cromossômico em cada conjunto. O objetivo desse material didático é apresentar uma atividade digital que pode ser realizada de maneira remota e interativa, utilizando a internet, em que os alunos poderão montar cariótipos de diferentes espécies, para facilitar a compreensão de conteúdos básicos de genética e citogenética.