At their June 2008 meeting, the Council of the American Genetic Association granted the first annual Stephen J. O'Brien Award for best student-authored article published in Journal of Heredity’s 2007 volume. The award honors Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien, Chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Laboratory of Genomic Diversity and head of the Section of Genetics, who served as Editor-In-Chief for the Journal from 1987-2007.
Due to the high quality of eligible articles, the award, which includes a $1,000 prize for each recipient, was given to two young researchers:
Vânia Azevedo, for her paper “Genetic Structure and Mating System of Manilkara huberi (Ducke) A. Chev., a Heavily Logged Amazonian Timber Species” (supervisors, Dr. Dario Grattapaglia and Dr. Ana Ciampi, University of Brasília); and Patricia Carvalho Baião, for “The Genetic Basis of the Plumage Polymorphism in Red-Footed Boobies (Sula sula): a Melanocortin-1 Receptor (MC1R) Analysis” (supervisor, Dr. Patricia Parker, University of Missouri-St. Louis). Both women are natives of Brasilia, Brazil, and were undergraduate classmates in Biological Sciences at the University of Brasilia.
Trudy Mackay, President of the American Genetic Association, commented:
“The Council evaluated whether candidate articles were substantial, novel and synthetic in their approaches. The Amazonian timber story has a strong conservation genetics element that makes it very timely. Our high ranking of the plumage paper was because of the clear application of gene discovery to an interesting organismal trait. Both articles are excellent, and the Council is pleased to present the award to both student authors.”
Summary of Winning Article and Author Biography:
The work on Manilkara huberi was an important component of the Dendrogene Project, which applies scientific knowledge of species composition, reproductive health and genetics to promote sustainable rainforest management in the Brazilian Amazon. Information on spatial genetic structure, mating systems and gene flow in natural populations was collected to provide a better understanding of population dynamics and genetic diversity patterns. The authors carried out genetic pattern analyses of adult trees and seedlings from plots that had been logged. In parallel, simulation studies for different logging scenarios were conducted. The results obtained will contribute to designing sounder management strategies to achieve both sustained use and conservation of genetic resources in the region’s natural forest. This work formed part of Dr. Azevedo’s PhD thesis. The Dendrogene Project, coordinated by Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, is a bilateral cooperation between Brazilian and United Kingdom governments (ABC-MRE/DFID), with the collaboration of national and international institutions.
Biography of Vânia Cristina Rennó Azevedo:
Vânia Azevedo, a 28-year-old Brazilian researcher, studied Biological Sciences at the University of Brasília (1998-2002). Since graduation, she has been working on projects related to genetic conservation of native Brazilian trees, especially from the Amazon. In 2004, she began a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Brasília, then transferred to the PhD program under the direction of Dr. Dario Grattapaglia and Dr. Ana Ciampi, receiving her doctorate in 2007. Her PhD work was part of the Dendrogene Project. In 2007, Vânia began her current position as a researcher at Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia (Brazilian Agricultural Research Enterprise – National Center for Research on Genetic Resources and Biotechnology). At Embrapa, she is coordinating three new genetic conservation projects, as well as continuing work on two Dendrogene projects. Two of the new projects are generating genetic information on native species, Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut) and Ilex paraguariensis (mate tea), for management and conservation programs. The third project’s aim is to establish a Plant DNA Bank of Brazilian native, rare and endangered species.
Email: azevedovcr@cenargen.embrapa.br
Summary of winning article and author biography
Summary of Winning Article and Author Biography:
Baião, Patricia C., Schreiber, E.A. and Parker, Patricia G., Journal of Heredity 98(4): 287-292
The red-footed booby is a charismatic tropical seabird that bears unique glaring red feet, as its common name suggests. In addition, individual birds present striking variation in plumage color, from stark white with black wingtips to allover brown. Patricia Baião, a PhD student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, studies the underlying genetic mechanisms responsible for producing these striking color patterns, and whether the birds themselves seem to use these plumage differences or brightness of feet to glean useful information about their current and prospective mates. In the Journal of Heredity article, Baião and her collaborators revealed the underlying mechanism responsible for plumage color differences in this species. The melanocortin 1-receptor (MC1R) plays an important role in the control of synthesis and deposition of the dark pigment melanin on feathers, and this study showed differences in the DNA sequence of that gene that perfectly matched the color pattern displayed by each bird. Even though the vast array of plumage color variation in birds has attracted the interest of scientists for decades, it was not until recently that significant progress was made on determining the genetic components of these coloration patterns. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge about the genetic control of melanin-based plumage variation and expands it to seabirds, a group that had not been previously analyzed. Revealing the genetic components of color variation helps to understand the evolutionary processes involved in coloration and the role that these striking differences play for the birds themselves.
Biography of Patricia Carvalho Baião:
Patricia Baião was born in Brasília, Brazil, and concluded her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Brasília in 2003. She obtained her Master’s degree at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2005, working with Dr. Patricia Parker. Her Master’s thesis focused on the striking plumage color variation of red-footed boobies in the Galápagos archipelago. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate with Dr. Parker, and is continuing her studies on various aspects of phenotypic variation of these amazing seabirds.
Email: mailto:pccg24@umsl.edu
<< Back to News |
