A technical-scientific partnership established between Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation [Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMbio)] and the Vale Technological Institute - Sustainable Development [Instituto Tecnológico Vale - Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ITV-DS)], headquartered in Belém, promises to deliver the largest genetic sequencing of Brazilian fauna and flora species ever conducted.

Called Genômica da Biodiversidade Brasileira (Genomics of Brazilian Biodiversity), or GBB, the project, which began last year, will be granted an investment of US$25 million by 2027 to study 5,000 genomes of species from Brazilian biodiversity. Of the total researched, 80 species will have a higher level of detail in the sequencing, called high-resolution, and will serve as reference genomes for researchers around the world. The list of animals and plants is defined by the ICMBio, among those considered to be of greatest interest, whether due to the need for conservation, appreciation of genetic heritage or stimulation of the bioeconomy.

To date, 93 projects have been implemented under the GBB, involving 546 species of Brazilian biodiversity, 279 sequences have been carried out, with the participation of more than 200 researchers from 14 research centers and 42 conservation units.

PRESERVATION

According to biologist Amely Martins, coordinator of the project at ICMBio, genomic sequencing and the resulting genetic knowledge of biodiversity are important tools for preservation, because they provide support for conservation actions.

“The creation of this genomic data, especially for species threatened with extinction, can help in the construction of national action plans for the conservation of these species, which aim to maintain or recover the genetic variability of populations that may be at greater risk”, explains the specialist.

This type of knowledge can be especially important in the face of climate change. “Genomic analysis offers a unique opportunity to understand, for example, the resilience of species in the face of changes and current conservation challenges. The generation of a reference genome, which is supposed to be that precisely constructed one for a given species, allows us to identify or characterize the demographic fluctuations of that specific species as well as to understand the genetic characteristics that influence its ability to adapt. A species with greater genetic variability has greater potential to adapt or be resilient to climate change. Therefore, we can understand which populations have the greatest chance of adapting and which are more vulnerable and therefore need more targeted actions”, he adds.

RENDADINHOS 

An example of how the project can help in understanding the effects of climate change has already been carried out with birds of the Willisornis genus, known as “rendadinhos” or “formigueiros”, endemic to the Amazon, that is, they only occur in this biome.

The study, conducted by the ITV-DS team in partnership with the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) and the University of Toronto, in Canada has discovered that, over the last 400 thousand years of presence in the Amazon, the species has gone through critical moments during other cycles of climate change. Such moments resulted in the reduction of the species' population and high rates of crossbreeding between relatives, which reduced its genetic variability, especially in the South and Southeast of the Amazon. Despite this, the birds have demonstrated their ability to survive, even under circumstances of climate disruptions.

The knowledge generated will allow the development of strategies to be adopted in conservation units, but also the derivation for a new study, which will attempt to discover, in the genes, the explanations for the resilience of the Willisornis genus.

Study may benefit agricultural production

Guilherme Oliveira, scientific director at ITV -DS, points out that, in addition to indicating the risks of extinction and paths for conservation, the study of the GBB may also be important for improving agricultural production.

“It is important that we have the genetics of these species to learn how, in nature, some individuals have learned or evolved in order to deal with climate situations similar to those of the future. In nature, we find specimens that are resistant to some diseases that, by chance, may appear, and climate change indicates that they will come. Thus, we have to understand the genetic diversity of these species, so that we can learn how nature dealt with these difficulties and bring these solutions to production”, explains the director.

Some Amazonian plant species being studied within the scope of the GBB are the açaí palm, the Brazil nut tree and the jaborandi, which has leaves with medicinal properties.

The harpy eagle is one of the Amazonian species being screened

Coordinator of the GBB by ITV-DS, biologist Alexandre Aleixo points out that around 50% of the species sequenced, to date, occur in the Amazon.

He cites as an example the harpy eagle, a species threatened with extinction and the first to have its reference genome sequenced by the project, among the 80 species selected. “Although it is found all throughout Brazil, it’s most present in the Amazon. This year, we published its reference genome. We are also sequencing that of the hyacinth macaw, which is found in the Pantanal and the Amazon, except the Amazonian populations that are genetically differentiated, as studies have already proven. In other words, the presence of Amazonian species within this contingent is very large and this number is expected to grow,” says the researcher.

Amely Martins explains that the Brazilian Biodiversity Genomics project includes species from all over Brazil, but that there are projects focusing on Amazonian species. Among them, she mentions those of some species at risk.

VARIETY

“We have primates, such as the Cebus kaapori, popularly known as the caiarara, and the Ateles marginatus, the coatá-da-testa-branca or spider monkey, which are threatened with extinction, and for which we are generating reference genomes. In addition to primates, several other groups are included, such as the cascudinho-zebra, a fish found exclusively in the Volta Grande of the Xingu River, in Pará, and which has been suffering impacts due to the implementation of the Belo Monte Power Plant and even more so due to biopiracy. And another example is the Podocnemis expansa, the Amazon turtle, which is a very interesting species, because it is of great bioeconomic interest, a vital source of protein for many riverside communities in the Amazon, but which is assessed as almost threatened with extinction”, he explains.

Collaboration targets species that cross borders

The GBB studies only Brazilian species, but partnerships are already being planned to expand the scope of the project, especially with regard to the Pan-Amazon region. “Brazil has a large part of the Amazon, but it is not the only Amazonian country. There are several neighboring countries to Brazil that also contain areas of the Amazon rainforest, and sometimes areas that are quite different from those in Brazil. However, species do not deal with geopolitical restrictions; they cross borders,” analyzes the ITV-DS director Guilherme Oliveira.

“It is very important that we have knowledge of the species that inhabit the Amazon, that we collaborate with countries in the region so that this knowledge becomes pan-Amazonian, covering the entire Amazon. In this sense, during the COP 16 on Biodiversity [United Nations Conference on Biodiversity of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity of 2024, held in Colombia between October 21 and November 1], we have already discussed with research institutes in the region, such as the Humboldt Institute in Bogotá, about how we can collaborate to study the genetics of Amazonian species”, says the researcher.

Environmental DNA allows simultaneous identification

In addition to producing reference genomes, the project also uses a technique that allows the production of so-called DNA barcodes based on the collection of environmental samples, whether from soil, water, sediments or air from a given location.

This is called environmental DNA, e-DNA or metabarcoding, which allows the simultaneous identification of multiple species that inhabit those environments, generating DNA barcodes for entire communities. Since it does not require the collection of specimens, it is considered a non-invasive technique, in addition to being faster and more accessible, since a single sample reveals several species, without the individuals being physically present at the time of collection, but only the genetic material they left behind.

EXPEDITIONS

The Brazilian Biodiversity Genomics project [projeto Genômica da Biodiversidade Brasileira] has already carried out two field expeditions to collect environmental DNA: one in June of this year, in the Tapajós National Forest, in western Pará; and one in October, in the Cajari River Extractive Reserve, in Amapá. The first expedition collected soil and leaf litter samples, which aim to detect species of mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates. The second expedition collected water samples to identify species of fish, invertebrates, plants and amphibians.

Other expeditions to conservation units are planned until 2027, holding the promise of producing even more knowledge about the species and giving more hope for the conservation of the country's rich genetic heritage and the most biodiverse region in the world, the Amazon.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
The production of Liberal Amazon is one of the initiatives of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Liberal Group and the Federal University of Pará. The articles involving research from UFPA are revised by professionals from the academy. The translation of the content is also provided by the agreement, through the research project ET-Multi: Translation Studies: multifaces and multisemiotics.