Research

Our group has been working on the genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits, particularly at the speciation boundaries. Our interests range from evolutionary to population and quantitative genetics and genomics to study the process of differentiation and species formation, even in the presence of continuous gene flow and adaptation. We are using population genomic and epigenomic tools to identify evolutionary forces affecting regions on the genome involved with species and population differentiation, with a greater focus on Tephritidae, but also on other insects.



Differentiation and Speciation in Anastrepha
We have been investigating population genomics and speciation processes in one of the main agricultural pests in South America, fruit flies of the species group Anastrepha fraterculus. This species group is riddled with recently diverged species, some of which are hard to differentiate. We have been using genomics and transcriptomics to identify phylogenetically informative regions on the genome at the species level, as well as at higher level in Anastrepha. We are extending these to help investigate local adaptation and differentiation across Brazil, hoping that it could help us understand better the forces shaping their differentiation, but also to identify a set of informative markers that could be useful for taxonomical identification of species in this genus. Because these processes may have been shaped by their adaptation to different hosts and environments, we are also investigating the role of epigenetic markers and microbiomes have had on their differentiation.


People


Reinaldo Otávio Alvarenga Alves de Brito
— Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Evolution
— B.Sc. in Biology from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (1988), M.Sc. in Genetics from Universidade de São Paulo (1993) and Ph.D. in Evolutionary And Population Biology from Washington University In Saint Louis (1999).
— Has experience in evolutionary biology and population and quantitative genetics, and has been working on the following subjects: phylogenomics, population genetics and genomics, speciation, genetics of species differences, molecular evolution and evolution of complex characters and evolution and differentiation of Anastrepha.
— brito@ufscar.br
CV Lattes
Google Scholar
ORCID


Samira Chahad-Ehlers
— Postdoctoral scholar
— BSc in Biology - State University of Londrina | MSc, PhD in Zoology - Federal University of Paraná | PDF, BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, CNPq, FAPERJ and CAPES - University of Cambridge, University of Leicester, Federal University of Paraná, Fiocruz, and Federal University of São Carlos.
— Evolutionary, molecular, and physiological mechanisms of biological clocks, with an emphasis on Diptera (CAPES: 88887.466869/2019-00).
— schahad@gmail.com
CV Lattes
Google Scholar
ResearchGate
ORCID


Edyane Moraes dos Santos
— PhD student - Evolutionary Genetics and Molecular Biology
— BSc in Biology, MSc in Ecosystem Sustainability - Federal University of Maranhão
— Population genetics, phylogeny and phylogeographic analysis using landscape genomics of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha of the fraterculus (Wiedemann) group (Diptera, Tephritidae)
— edyanemoraes@hotmail.com
CV Lattes


Sofia Dallasta Pedroso
— PhD candidate - Evolutionary Genetics and Molecular Biology
— BSc, MSc in Biotechnology - Federal University of São Carlos | Undergraduate Biology Teaching - University of Franca.
— Epigenetics in Anastrepha fraterculus: Association Between Epigenetic Marks in Females and Host Colonization (CAPES: 88887.950867/2024-00).
— sofia.dallasta@estudante.ufscar.br
CV Lattes
Google Scholar
ORCID

Undergraduate students


Bruna Larsen Gallicchio (2022)
— Undergraduate student in Biology
— Microbiomes of Anastrepha spp.
— brunalarsengallicchio@gmail.com
CV Lattes


Rafael Roefero (2024)
— Undergraduate student in Biology
— Anastrepha fraterculus species complex chromosome structure.
— rafaelroefero@gmail.com
CV Lattes
ORCID

Alumni/Visitors


Msc. Beatriz Faustino Lima-Mendonça
— MSc student (2022-2024): Host effect on variability of morphological traits and epigenetic markers in fruit flies Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera; Tephritidae).
— BSc. in Biological Sciences by Federal University of Rondônia Foundation | MSc. in Evolutionary Genetics and Molecular Biology by Federal University of São Carlos
— Epigenetics, Insect-host relationship, molecular biology, evolutionary genetics
— beatrizfaustinolima04@gmail.com
CV Lattes
Google Scholar
ORCID


Msc. Bruno Matheus Gomes
— BSc. in Biology (2017-2021): OBP expression at different phases of the daily cycle in males of two species of Anastrepha.
— MSc student (2021-2023): Molecular analysis and expression of Par Domain Protein 1 and Takeout in males of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera; Tephritidae).
— BSc in Biology, MSc in Evolutionary Genetics and Molecular Biology - Federal University of São Carlos | MBA student in Data Science & Analytics – USP ESALQ
— Behavioral ecology, molecular biology and evolutionary genetics
— Currently: PhD candidate in Entomology at the University of São Paulo
— bmgomes@estudante.ufscar.br
CV Lattes

Collaborators


Andréa Cristina Peripato
Associate Professor II, Federal University of São Carlos
— Genetic and Epigenetic Basis of Maternal Care.
— peripato@ufscar.br
ORCID


Jason B. Wolf
Professor of Evolutionary Genetics, University of Bath
— Evolution of complex traits.
— J.B.Wolf@bath.ac.uk
ORCID


João Aristeu da Rosa
Senior Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Unesp/Araraquara
— Parasitology, with emphasis on triatomines.
— joao.aristeu@unesp.br
ORCID


Tiago Belintani
Post-Doc at Department of Ecology - Institute of Biosciences, Unesp/Rio Claro
— Evolution of recent groups, Phylogenomics, Molecular systematics, Triatominae, Theraphosidae.
— tiagobellintani@gmail.com
ORCID


Roberto A. Zucchi
Full Professor (Senior Collaborator) at ESALQ, USP
— Taxonomy of Insects of Agricultural Importance, with emphasis on fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha (Diptera, Tephritidae) and egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae).
— razucchi@usp.br
ORCID


Marcoandre Savaris
Professor at ESALQ, USP
— Systematics, taxonomy and diversity of insects in the Neotropical Region, with emphasis on fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae) and other insects of agricultural importance.
— savaris@usp.br
ORCID


Maura Helena Manfrin
Associate Professor at University of São Paulo
— Geographic variation and natural populations, phylogeography, morphology, gene expression in the insect-plant relationship and hybrid zones.
— maura.manfrin@usp.br
ORCID


Scott M. Geib
Research Entomologist at USDA-ARS Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center
— Entomology, Tephritid Fruit Fly, Population Genomics, Functional Genomics, Genomics.
— scott.geib@usda.gov
ORCID


Julian R. Dupuis
Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology - University of Kentucky
— Insect evolution, Systematics, Population genetics, Genomics.
— julian.dupuis@uky.edu
ORCID


Allen L. Norrbom
Research Entomologist at REE-ARS Smithsonian Institute
— Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security.
— allen.norrbom@usda.gov
ORCID


Carlos Congrains
Researcher at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | UH Manoa · Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences
— Evolutionary Genomics, Phylogenomics, Transcriptomics, Molecular Evolution, Speciation
—
ORCID


Brian Wiegmann
William Neal Reynolds Professor of Entomology at NC State University
— Systematics, Phylogenomics, Evolutionary Biology
— bwiegman@ncsu.edu
ORCID

Interested in joining us?

We always look forward to talking to people interested in our research. I should mention that I am currently associated with the Graduate Program in Genetics of Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Medicine – USP .

Send us an email or a note in the other available channels if you're interested in joining our research group.

Group photos

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Papers

Under Review:

Bisio, M. C., Santos, E. M. dos, Santos, C. A., Chahad-Ehlers, S., & de Brito, R. A. (2024). Molecular evolution and genetic diversity of defective chorion 1 in Anastrepha fraterculus and Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera, Tephritidae). Research Square Platform LLC. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4327320/v1.

Published:

Congrains, C., Dupuis, J. R., Rodriguez, E. J., Norrbom, A. L., Steck, G., Sutton, B., Nolazco, N., de Brito, R. A., & Geib, S. M. (2023). Phylogenomic analysis provides diagnostic tools for the identification of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) species complex. In Evolutionary Applications (Vol. 16, Issue 9, pp. 1598–1618). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13589.

dos Santos, E. M., & de Brito, R. A. (2023). Population Differentiation with Introgression. In Conservation Genetics in the Neotropics (pp. 89–116). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34854-9_5.

Belintani, T., Congrains, C., Pinotti, H., Chahad-Ehlers, S., de Brito, R. A., Oliveira, J., Frias-Lasserre, D., Fontes, F. M., & da Rosa, J. A. (2023). Transcriptome-based phylogenomic analysis reveals evidence of ancient hybridization events in the Mepraia genus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae). In Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (Vol. 11). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1215319.

Díaz, F., Wolf, J., & de Brito, R. A. (2023). Transcriptional Misexpression in Hybrids between Species Linked by Gene Flow Is Associated With Patterns of Sequence Divergence. In J. Gonzalez (Ed.), Genome Biology and Evolution (Vol. 15, Issue 5). Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad071.

Díaz, F., Wolf, J., & de Brito, R. (2021). Patterns of regulatory divergence and gene expression in hybrids are associated with molecular evolution in species undergoing gene flow. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.14.468549.

Congrains, C., Zucchi, R. A., & de Brito, R. A. (2021). Phylogenomic approach reveals strong signatures of introgression in the rapid diversification of neotropical true fruit flies (Anastrepha: Tephritidae). In Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (Vol. 162, p. 107200). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107200.

Rego, N. de F. C., Chahad-Ehlers, S., Campanini, E. B., Torres, F. R., & de Brito, R. A. (2021). VRILLE shows high divergence among Higher Diptera flies but may retain role as transcriptional repressor of Clock. In Journal of Insect Physiology (Vol. 133, p. 104284). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104284.

de Oliveira, J. L., Morales, A. C., Stewart, B., Gruenheit, N., Engelmoer, J., Brown, S. B., de Brito, R. A., Hurst, L. D., Urrutia, A. O., Thompson, C. R. L., & Wolf, J. B. (2019). Conditional expression explains molecular evolution of social genes in a microbe. In Nature Communications (Vol. 10, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11237-2.

Reznik, G. U., Congrains, C., & de Brito, R. A. (2018, October). Montagem do Genoma de Dictyostelium discoideum pela Combinação de Estratégias de Sequenciamento de Próxima Geração. In [UFSCar São Carlos] XXV CIC e X CIDTI-2018.

Díaz, F., Luís A. Lima, A., Nakamura, A. M., Fernandes, F., Sobrinho, I., Jr., & de Brito, R. A. (2018). Evidence for Introgression Among Three Species of the Anastrepha fraterculus Group, a Radiating Species Complex of Fruit Flies. In Frontiers in Genetics (Vol. 9). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00359.

Congrains, C., Campanini, E. B., Torres, F. R., Rezende, V. B., Nakamura, A. M., de Oliveira, J. L., Lima, A. L. A., Chahad-Ehlers, S., Sobrinho, I. S., Jr, & de Brito, R. A. (2018). Evidence of Adaptive Evolution and Relaxed Constraints in Sex-Biased Genes of South American and West Indies Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). In Genome Biology and Evolution (Vol. 10, Issue 1, pp. 380–395). Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evy009.

de Oliveira, J. L., Sobrinho-Junior, I. S., Chahad-Ehlers, S., & de Brito, R. A. (2017). Evolutionary coincidence of adaptive changes in exuperantia and the emergence of bicoid in Cyclorrhapha (Diptera). In Development Genes and Evolution (Vol. 227, Issue 5, pp. 355–365). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-017-0594-3.

Chahad‐Ehlers, S., Arthur, L. P., Lima, A. L. A., Gesto, J. S. M., Torres, F. R., Peixoto, A. A., & de Brito, R. A. (2017). Expanding the view of Clock and cycle gene evolution in Diptera. In Insect Molecular Biology (Vol. 26, Issue 3, pp. 317–331). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12296.

Campanini, E. B., Congrains, C., Torres, F. R., & de Brito, R. A. (2017). Odorant-binding proteins expression patterns in recently diverged species of Anastrepha fruit flies. In Scientific Reports (Vol. 7, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02371-2.

de Carvalho, D. B., Congrains, C., Chahad-Ehlers, S., Pinotti, H., Brito, R. A. de, & da Rosa, J. A. (2017). Differential transcriptome analysis supports Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) as distinct species. In B. J. Mans (Ed.), PLOS ONE (Vol. 12, Issue 4, p. e0174997). Public Library of Science (PLoS). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174997.

Campanini, E. B., & de Brito, R. A. (2016). Molecular evolution of Odorant-binding proteins gene family in two closely related Anastrepha fruit flies. In BMC Evolutionary Biology (Vol. 16, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-016-0775-0.

Rezende, V. B., Congrains, C., Lima, A. L. A., Campanini, E. B., Nakamura, A. M., Oliveira, J. L. de, Chahad-Ehlers, S., Junior, I. S., & Alves de Brito, R. (2016). Head Transcriptomes of Two Closely Related Species of Fruit Flies of theAnastrepha fraterculusGroup Reveals Divergent Genes in Species with Extensive Gene Flow. In G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics (Vol. 6, Issue 10, pp. 3283–3295). Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.116.030486.

Nakamura, A. M., Chahad-Ehlers, S., Lima, A. L. A., Taniguti, C. H., Sobrinho, I., Torres, F. R., & de Brito, R. A. (2016). Reference genes for accessing differential expression among developmental stages and analysis of differential expression of OBP genes in Anastrepha obliqua. In Scientific Reports (Vol. 6, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17480.

Camargo, L. F., Brito, R. A., & Penteado-Dias, A. M. (2015). Redescription of Campoletis sonorensis (Cameron, 1886) (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae), parasitoid of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Brazil. In Brazilian Journal of Biology (Vol. 75, Issue 4, pp. 989–998). FapUNIFESP (SciELO). https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.04914.

Gonçalves, V. R., Sobrinho, I. S., Jr, Malagó, W., Jr, Henrique‐Silva, F., & de Brito, R. A. (2013). Transcriptome analysis of female reproductive tissues of Anastrepha obliqua and molecular evolution of eggshell proteins in the fraterculus group. In Insect Molecular Biology (Vol. 22, Issue 5, pp. 551–561). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12045.

Sauce, B., de Brito, R. A., & Peripato, A. C. (2012). Genetic Architecture of Nest Building in Mice LG/J × SM/J. In Frontiers in Genetics (Vol. 3). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2012.00090.

Sobrinho, I. S., & de Brito, R. A. (2012). Positive and Purifying Selection Influence the Evolution of Doublesex in the Anastrepha fraterculus Species Group. In W. J. Etges (Ed.), PLoS ONE (Vol. 7, Issue 3, p. e33446). Public Library of Science (PLoS). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033446.

Sobrinho, I. S., Jr, & de Brito, R. A. (2010). Evidence for positive selection in the gene fruitless in Anastrephafruit flies. In BMC Evolutionary Biology (Vol. 10, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-293.

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