DEVELOPMENT DATA AS PHYLOGENETIC CHARACTERS: A CASE STUDY OF A SUBFAMILY OF FROGS (ANURA: LEIUPERINAE).

GROSSO, JIMENA; BALDO, DIEGO; CARDOZO, DARIO; KOLENC, FRANCISCO; BORTEIRO, CLAUDIO; RODRIGUEZ DE OLIVEIRA, MARIANA; BONINO, MARCELO; BARRASSO, DIEGO A.; FLORENCIA VERA CANDIOTI

Buenos Aires

Encuentro; Xth Meeting of the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology; 2019

Latin American Society for Developmental Biology

The study of early development in leiuperines frogs has been addressed byseveral works in recent times. However, a comparative developmental approachunde r a phylogenetic context was not available. Herein we analyzed themorphological and ontogenetic diversity of embryos belonging to 22 species of thethree largest genera in Leiuperinae. We find that in most cases, variations fit withthe phylogeny at the i nter and intrageneric levels. Embryo kyphosis and whitishcolor are synapomorphies for the clade Physalaemus + Engystomops. Theconfigurations and developmental trajectories of the lower lip are exceptionallydiverse. The developmental sequences optimized recover an early differentiatedfirst lower tooth row a synapomorphy of Pseudopaludicola and Physalaemus, andan early differentiated second row as synapomorphy of Pleurodema. On the otherhand, few features are highly conserved in the subfamily, such as the adhesiveglands universally present in a type C configuration. Finally, our results alsosuggest that the morphology and ontogeny of embryos is in some casesassociated to the environment where they develop. A large body size, poorlydeveloped transien t respiratory structures and delayed development of thedigestive tract occur convergently in embryos inhabiting cold, oxygenatedenvironments. Embryos that develop in warmer water bodies in xeric environmentsshow more complex and persistent transient res piratory structures and an earlyonset of hind limbs development.