Characinae (Actinopterygii: Characiformes: Characidae): molecular identification and interspecific phylogenetic relationships

Abstract

Characinae is one of the most speciose subfamilies of Characidae and widely distributed throughout South and Central America. The subfamily contains small to medium-sized species that adopt distinct feeding strategies as carnivory, omnivory and lepidophagy. Phylogenetic relationships within the Characinae and with other subfamilies have been subject of a few morphological studies, although none hypothesis included a representative number of Characinae species using either morphological or molecular characters. Furthermore, the proposed hypotheses still present inconsistencies at intergeneric and interspecific levels. Thus, the present proposal, which belongs to a large phylogenetic and evolutionary study of the order Characiformes, aims to test hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships among species and among genera of Characinae, to test relationship hypothesis of Characidae with other subfamilies of the Characidae, and to construct a genetic database for molecular species identification. To infer phylogenetic relationships, we will use next-gen sequencing of roughly 2000 loci of Ultraconserved Elements (UCEs), orthologous nuclear markers highly efficient for phylogenetic studies. For molecular identification, we will use Sanger sequencing to construct a DNA barcoding database through cytochrome oxidase c subunit I gene. Results should contribute to expand our current knowledge on the diversity, phylogeny and evolutionary processes involved in the diversification of species of Characinae, one of the largest subclades of the Characidae. (AU)