Project led by: Diogo F. Antunes & Eva Ringler
Terrestrial living and reproductions was a major evolutionary transition, where animals had to overcome physiological constrains associated with terrestrial living such as risk of desiccation and an increase on free oxygen. This transitions has occurred repeatedly across the animal kingdom, and was often accompanied by the emergence of novel behavioural and developmental traits. In neotropical frog Allobates femoralis, terrestrial oviposition combined with parental transport of newly hatched tadpoles provides a unique opportunity to investigate the emergence of adaptive traits associated with complex life-history strategies.
This project aims to investigate the protein compositions of the tadpole’s skin which might facilitate parental tadpole transport from terrestrial oviposition sites to water bodies in the forest. To do investigate this question we are taking advantage of an established laboratorial population of A. femoralis, which allows us to control environmental conditions and track tadpole development from egg deposition to tadpole deposition in water.
This project employs distinct approaches to the question:
- Comparative proteomics to identify proteins differentially present in tadpole skin before and after transport
- Spatial protein localization using immunohistochemistry to determine where key molecules are produced within the epidermis
Combined, these axes will provide an holistic overview of the molecular and cellular adaptations associated with terrestrial reproduction in poison frogs. Providing the necessary background information for future comparative analysis to investigate the evolution of parental care.
Project funded by:
