Influence of anthropogenic pressure on the genetic diversity and chromosomal instability of an endangered forest-specialist anuran
2022
Getelina, M. A. | Schwantes, J. B. | Graichen, D. A. S. | Schuch, A. P.
Deforestation leads to changes in the landscape, which can isolate and decrease the size of populations affecting their structure and genetic variability. Additionally, it can increase the frequency of chromosomal damage due to exposure to genotoxic agents present in the environment. Among vertebrates, amphibians are the most threatened taxonomic group, especially forest-specialist species. Our work aimed to assess the impact of deforestation on landscape, as well as in the genetic diversity and genomic instability of populations of the amphibian species Crossodactylus schmidti Gallardo, 1961, which is restricted to well-preserved stream environments in the Atlantic rainforest in southern Brazil. Sampling of oral mucosa cells was carried out in four different forest areas. We analyzed a total of 200 sequences of two mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and one nuclear gene (Tyrosinase), as well as 1000 oral mucosa cells per individual through cytogenetic analyses. Our results clearly indicate that all forest areas analyzed in this work are important for the genetic diversity and maintenance of these populations in the landscape, regardless of size. However, the largest area has the major role as disperser of genetic diversity, highlighting the importance of conservation units and large forest areas for the persistence of endangered forest-specialist amphibian species.
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