Life Sciences & Biotechnology
Title : | Exploring evolutionary patterns of hybridization and parthenogenesis in conjunction with parasite co-evolution in freshwater molluscs in India |
Area of research : | Life Sciences & Biotechnology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Chinta Sidharthan, Ashoka Trust For Research In Ecology And The Environment (Atree), Karnataka |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2025 |
Contact info : | chinta.sidharthan@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Freshwater molluscs are considered excellent bioindicators for understanding the health of ecosystems. They are frequently used to test for organic and inorganic pollutants in freshwater ecosystems. Contrastingly, invasive snails have also posed a threat to existing flora and fauna in certain regions due to their rapid and extensive spread. Molluscs are also a major food source in many developing regions of the world. Understanding the underlying patterns of reproduction of a group is imperative to understanding their response to the environment. Thus, the groups such as freshwater molluscs are an excellent system for studying hybridization and subsequent unisexual reproduction. Studies have shown that parthenogenesis in molluscs can originate not only through inter-species hybridization, but also spontaneously. Furthermore, parasite load is shown to influence the maintenance of parthenogenesis in snail populations of various species. Molluscs also have a range of phenotypic variations, especially in shell morphology, which are often correlated to variations in habitat, or are characteristics of natural selection or independent evolutionary histories. Molluscs are, therefore, a suitable group to study the various evolutionary and ecological processes that play a role in influencing the modes of reproduction. The freshwater snail genus Bellamya which has a widespread distribution in India, is restricted to freshwater bodies and is known to have parasitic infestations from nematodes and trematodes, is an excellent model system to study parthenogenesis.
Proposed project begins with aiming to address the fundamental question of what is the actual diversity within the genus Bellamya. What seems like a widespread and abundant species could well be multiple species in a complex, each suited to a specific habitat, as is the case with most cryptic species. Therefore, understanding the true diversity within the group will provide a basis for more effective conservation measures. The species delimitation will be carried out using an integrative taxonomic approach, using multiple lines of evidence such as morphology, molecular data and niche modelling. The project also aims to use the molecular data to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships between these species and test for evolutionary processes such as hybridization. In parallel, experimental set-ups in the lab with subsequent generations of snails will be used to test for parthenogenesis, in an attempt to establish a link between inter-specific hybridization and parthenogenesis. The third aim of the study is to explore the role of parasites and parasite co-evolution in driving the diversification within this group. Thus, this project aims to understand the role of evolutionary processes and diversification patterns in freshwater molluscs from a phylogenetic and ecological perspective. |
Organizations involved