Background Giardia duodenalis is a flagellate protozoan that parasitizes humans and several other mammals. Protozoan contamination has been regularly documented at important environmental sites, although most of these studies were performed at the species level. There is a lack of studies that correlate environmental contamination and clinical infections in the same region. The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic diversity of a set of clinical and environmental samples and to use the obtained data to characterize the genetic profile of the distribution of G. duodenalis and the potential for zoonotic transmission in a metropolitan region of Brazil.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe genetic assemblages and subtypes of G. duodenalis isolates obtained from hospitals, a veterinary clinic, a day-care center and important environmental sites were determined via multilocus sequence-based genotyping using three unlinked gene loci. Cysts of Giardia were detected at all of the environmental sites. Mixed assemblages were detected in 25% of the total samples, and an elevated number of haplotypes was identified. The main haplotypes were shared among the groups, and new subtypes were identified at all loci. Ten multilocus genotypes were identified: 7 for assemblage A and 3 for assemblage B.Conclusions/SignificanceThere is persistent G. duodenalis contamination at important environmental sites in the city. The identified mixed assemblages likely represent mixed infections, suggesting high endemicity of Giardia in these hosts. Most Giardia isolates obtained in this study displayed zoonotic potential. The high degree of genetic diversity in the isolates obtained from both clinical and environmental samples suggests that multiple sources of infection are likely responsible for the detected contamination events. The finding that many multilocus genotypes (MLGs) and haplotypes are shared by different groups suggests that these sources of infection may be related and indicates that there is a notable risk of human infection caused by Giardia in this region.

Acrocomia aculeata is a perennial, fruit-producing palm tree, native to tropical forests. Its fruits have spurred interest because of their significant potential for use in the cosmetic industry and as feedstock for biofuel. In the present study, the genetic structure and mating system in Acrocomia aculeata were analyzed, using eight nuclear micro-satellite loci and samples from São Paulo and Minas Gerais states, Brazil. By means of Bayesian analysis, these populations were clustered into two or three groups. A high multilocus outcrossing rate suggests that outcrosses were predominant, although a certain degree of biparental inbreeding also occurred. Thus, although monoecious and self-compatible, there is every indication that A. aculeata bears a mixed reproductive system, with a predominance of outcrossing. Given the genetic structure revealed hereby, future conservation strategies and germplasm collecting should be focussed on sampling and preserving individuals from different clusters.

The genetic variability and population genetic structure of six populations of Praecereus euchlorus and Pilosocereus machrisii were investigated. The genetic variability in single populations of Pilosocereus vilaboensis, Pilosocereus aureispinus, and Facheiroa squamosa was also examined. All of these cacti species have a patchy geographic distribution in which they are restricted to small areas of xeric habitats in eastern Brazil. An analysis of genetic structure was used to gain insights into the historical mechanisms responsible for the patchy distribution of P. euchlorus and P. machrisii. High genetic variability was found at the populational level in all species (P=58.9-92.8%, A(p)=2.34-3.33, H(e)=0.266-0.401), and did not support our expectations of low variability based on the small population size. Substantial inbreeding was detected within populations (F(IS)=0.370-0.623). In agreement with their insular distribution patterns, P. euchlorus and P. machrisii had a high genetic differentiation (F(ST)=0.484 and F(ST)=0.281, respectively), with no evidence of isolation by distance. Accordingly, estimates of gene flow (N(m)) calculated from F(ST) and private alleles were below the level of N(m)=1 in P. machrisii and P. euchlorus. These results favored historical fragmentation as the mechanism responsible for the patchy distribution of these two species. The genetic distance between P. machrisii and P. vilaboensis was not compatible with their taxonomic distinction, indicating a possible local speciation event in this genus, or the occurrence of introgression events.

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Manioc is the most important food crop that originated in Amazonia. Many studies have increased our understanding of its evolutionary dynamics under cultivation. However, most of them focused on manioc cultivation in environments with low soil fertility, generally Oxisols. Recent ethnobotanical observations showed that bitter manioc also performs well in high fertility soils, such as Amazonian dark earths (ADE) and the floodplain. We used 10 microsatellite loci to investigate the genetic diversity and structure of bitter manioc varieties grown in different soil types in communities of smallholder farmers along the middle Madeira River in Central Amazonia. The genetic diversity of some sweet varieties and seedlings was also evaluated. Adult individuals showed higher levels of genetic diversity and smaller inbreeding coefficients (A ( R ) = 5.52, H ( O ) = 0.576, f = 0.086) than seedlings (A ( R ) = 4.39, H ( O ) = 0.421, f = 0.242). Bitter manioc varieties from the floodplain showed higher levels of genetic diversity (A ( R ) = 5.19, H ( O ) = 0.606) than those from ADE (A ( R ) = 4.45, H ( O ) = 0.538) and from Oxisols (A ( R ) = 4.15, H ( O ) = 0.559). The varieties grown in the floodplain were strongly differentiated from the varieties grown in Oxisols (F ( ST ) = 0.093) and ADE (F ( ST ) = 0.108), suggesting important genetic structuring among varieties grown in the floodplain and upland soils (ADE and Oxisols). This is the first time that genetic divergence of bitter manioc varieties in cultivation in different Amazonian soils in a small geographic area is reported.