Dipteryx alata Vog. (Fabaceae) is a species of tree native to the Brazilian Cerrado that has economic potential due to its use for food, forage, medicinal, recovery of degraded areas, landscaping and wood extraction. The objective of the present study was to sequence, assemble and annotate the chloroplast genome sequence (cp genome) of D. alata and perform comparative analysis with the cp genome of other species of Fabaceae. The chloroplast is 158,647 bp in length and exhibits a quadripartite structure, with a pair of inverted repeats (IRs: 24,948 bp) separated by the large single copy (LSC: 88,769 bp) and small single copy (SSC: 19,982 bp) regions. It contains 125 genes, of which 109 are unique, including 76 protein-coding genes (CDS), 29 transporter RNA genes (tRNA) and four ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA). Comparative analysis of the cp genome of D. alata with the genome of other Fabaceae indicated similarity to the gene content, but gene losses and rearrangements have been identified. Comparative analysis indicated that the genes located in the IR regions were the most conserved, with average values of nucleotide diversity (Pi) of 0.03 followed by SSC (Pi-0.08) and LSC (Pi-0.09). Some non-coding regions exhibited relatively high divergence of sequences. The chloroplast genome contains also 131 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of which 121 are located in intergenic regions and ten in protein-coding regions. The most frequent SSR repetition was A/T and AT/TA. The complete cp genome sequence of D. alata reported in this paper represents a valuable addition to the scarce available genomic resources for this Brazilian Cerrado species. This work shows the first complete plastoma of a species belonging to the ADA clade, within the Papilionoideae subfamily, and contributes to improve studies of phylogeny and plastoma evolution of the Fabaceae family. In addition, it provides new genetic information on plastid sequences useful for designing conservation and breeding strategies. Chloroplast sequences will be useful in phylogenetic studies, population genetics, phylogeography and molecular systematics.

Ecotoxicity of glyphosate (GLY) and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) was investigated in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. We tested the effects of these chemicals on the gills and liver of both male and female guppies using qualitative and quantitative histopathological analyses associated with histopathological condition indexes. Both genders showed similar median lethal concentration (LC ) at 96 h for GLY (68.78 and 70.87 mg l ) and AMPA (180 and 164.32 mg l ). However, the histopathological assessment of both fish organs exposed to sublethal concentrations of GLY (35 mg l ) and AMPA (82 mg l ) for 96 h showed a tissue- and gender-specific histopathological response. In both exposure assays, fish presented mainly progressive changes, such as proliferation of the interlamellar epithelium, partial and total fusion of secondary lamellae. The liver showed mainly regressive changes, such as steatosis, pyknotic nuclei and high distribution of collagen fibers. Unusually large hepatocytes as degenerated cells were also detected. Histopathological changes in gills were similar for the males and females, but the liver response was different between the genders. The hepatic inflammatory changes were more common in males. The increase in the area of hepatocyte vacuoles is gender dependent with higher values in the male compared to the female guppies exposed to GLY and AMPA. Multiparametric analysis indicated that the male guppies are more sensitive than females, particularly in the presence of AMPA. Our study shows that the histopathological assessment associated with gender-specific response can be successfully used in ecotoxicological assessment of GLY and the metabolite AMPA. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies provides a great volume of genome sequence data even for non-model species. The development of microsatellite markers using these data is a relatively quick and easy process. Dipteryx alata Vogel (Fabaceae) is an arboreal species from the Cerrado biome and is considered an important plant genetic resource. Here, we report the development of microsatellite markers for D. alata using NGS data. DNA samples from four individuals were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform and high-quality reads were assembled into contigs of the D. alata genome sequence. Microsatellite regions were identified using the IMEX webserver and primer pairs were designed using the Primer3 software. The amplification settings for each locus were optimized. Fluorescent-labeled primers were developed and used to genotype individuals derived from three natural populations of D. alata. Fifty-four microsatellite regions were identified, from which 27 were elected to primer design. Among the amplified loci, 11 were polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from 2 to 10. The expected heterozygosity under Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) per locus varied from 0.191 to 0.807. Genotype and allele frequencies for all loci agreed with those expected under HWE and linkage disequilibrium was not significant for all pairs of loci. The probabilities of exclusion of paternity and of combined identity were equal to 0.993 and 5.65 x 10, respectively. The markers developed in this study are useful to several types of population genetic studies with D. alata and, eventually, for closely related species.

A inclusão de alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais (NEE's) no sistema regular de ensino é hoje a diretriz principal das políticas públicas educacionais tanto a nível federal, quanto estadual e municipal. Entretanto, os licenciados egressos das instituições de Ensino Superior estão verdadeiramente preparados para o atendimento adequado aos portadores de NEE's? Foi no sentido de responder este questionamento que demos início ao desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, que analisou as opiniões de acadêmicos dos cursos de Física, Química e Biologia - Licenciaturas, do segundo e do último período de cada curso, a fim de observar qual o pensamento dos mesmos em relação à inclusão educacional e à ausência de disciplinas desta área nos cursos de licenciatura nas universidades públicas federais.

A genética é uma das áreas da biologia em que os alunos demonstram maior grau de dificuldade, por ser complexa e trazer conteúdos de difícil assimilação. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo elaborar o jogo intitulado “Jogando com a genética”, bem como avaliar a eficácia dessa tecnologia educacional no ensino de genética. O jogo informatizado de perguntas e respostas acerca dos principais conceitos de genética foi criado em Microsoft Office Power Point, considerando a essência das metodologias lúdicas. A proposta pedagógica foi realizada em uma turma do 3° ano do Ensino Médio do colégio XX. Os resultados da pesquisa foram analisados por meio de questionários pré-teste e pós-teste e de observações <em>in loco</em>. Verificou-se que os jogos lúdicos associados ao método tradicional de ensino possibilitam entendimento dos conteúdos, participação e interação dos alunos nas aulas.  A pesquisa permitiu caracterizar um novo recurso didático que pode ser reproduzido e usado por outros educadores no ensino de genética.