The National Agricultural Laboratory (Lanagro) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), located in Goiânia (GO), has become a national and international reference after implementing the genetic sequencing (DNA) of 11 Brazilian species of freshwater fish.
The data is available in the Bold Systems database at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
The species identified and cataloged include: bandeirado, cangatá, timbiro, cambeua, guarijuba, piramutaba, cara-de-gato, piracatinga, piranambu, uritinga, and mandira. The specimens were sent to PUC-Minas, fixed and preserved in a museum, where a taxonomist specializing in fish classifies them based on the morphological characteristics of each individual sent.
In the analyses, a DNA molecule found in cells is used, in certain conserved regions that are similar for individuals of the same biological species. The technique used, called PCR (polymerase chain reaction), allows for copies of this region to be made. From these, sequencing is done, and the identity of the generated fragment is discovered, so that at the end of the analyses for each fish sample, a DNA sequence is generated.
“To identify the species to which the sequence belongs, the validated information is searched in an international database, the barcode of life system. It is expected that in the coming years all species on the planet will have their barcode deposited in the database,” said Maria da Glória Trindade, federal agricultural tax auditor and geneticist at Lanagro.Database
In 2003, Canadian researcher Paul Hebert from the University of Guelph proposed a global initiative called the Barcode of Life Project, aimed at cataloging the DNA barcode of all organisms described by science worldwide.
After more than a decade of scientific research, there is substantial support for work with invertebrates, birds, fish, and others. These are the so-called DNA Barcode Libraries developed for fish from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico, with over 5 million available for consultation on the website: www.boldsystems.org.
In Brazil, the responsible party is the adjunct professor at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of Minas Gerais, Daniel Cardoso de Carvalho, coordinator of the Conservation Genetics laboratory, and a doctor in animal genetics.Source: Portal Brasil