Browsing by Author "Kyriacou, C.P."
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- Molecular evolution of the period gene and phylogeny of neotropical sandfliesPublication . Mazzoni, C.J.; Alcobia Gomes, Célia Margarida; Souza, N.A.; Queiroz, R.G.; Justiniano, S.C.B.; Ward, R.D.; Kyriacou, C.P.; Peixoto, Alexandre AfrânioThe molecular evolution of the clock gene period was studied in Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae). Comparison of the synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates between sandflies and Drosophila revealed a significantly higher evolutionary rate in the latter in three of the four regions analyzed. The differences in rate were higher in the sequences flanking the Thr-Gly repetitive domain, a region that has expanded in Drosophila but remained stable and short in sandflies, a result consistent with the coevolutionary scenario proposed for this region of the gene. An initial phylogenetic analysis including eight neotropical sandfly species and one from the Old World was also carried out. The results showed that only the subgenus Nyssomyia is well supported by distance (neighbor-joining) and maximum parsimony analysis. The grouping of the other species from the subgenus Lutzomyia and Migonei group shows very low bootstrap values and is not entirely consistent with classical morphological systematics of the genus Lutzomyia.
- New molecular markers for phlebotomine sand fliesPublication . Peixoto, Alexandre Afrânio; Alcobia Gomes, Célia Margarida; de Amoretty, P.R.; Lins, R.M.M.A.; Meireles-Filho, A.C.A.; de Souza, N.A.; Kyriacou, C.P.Using degenerate-primers PCR we isolated and sequenced fragments from the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis homologous to two behavioural genes in Drosophila, cacophony and period. In addition we identified a number of other gene fragments that show homology to genes previously cloned in Drosophila. A codon usage table for L. longipalpis based on these and other genes was calculated. These new molecular markers will be useful in population genetics and evolutionary studies in phlebotomine sand flies and in establishing a preliminary genetic map in these important leishmaniasis vectors.