{"id":125206,"date":"2012-08-22T10:50:17","date_gmt":"2012-08-22T13:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=125206"},"modified":"2015-11-27T13:21:14","modified_gmt":"2015-11-27T15:21:14","slug":"sao-paulo-in-the-amazon-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/sao-paulo-in-the-amazon-region\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e3o Paulo in the Amazon region"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Salamanta

FABIO COLOMBINI<\/span>Salamanta or red boa constrictor (Epicrates cenchria crassus<\/em>), Amazonas, 1989FABIO COLOMBINI<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI remember well when I presented a study in 2005 here at the Butantan Institute, and a colleague remarked that if we are able to graduate a PhD candidate, our mission will have been accomplished.\u201d Thus recalls Ana Moura da Silva, responsible for coordinating the Par\u00e1 teams and researchers from the Butantan Institute\u2019s National Institute of Science and Technology in Toxins (INCT-Tox), as well as the Amazon Region Actions Subprogram for the Butantan Institute\u2019s Amazon region research program. \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to train new researchers and are already prepared for much bigger challenges,\u201d says Silva.<\/p>\n

Considerable advances have taken place in the fields of biology, biochemistry and pharmacology. Among others, Silva points to: 1) the survey on snake and scorpion varieties in the Tapaj\u00f3s National Forest (Flona) near Santar\u00e9m; 2) a revised and expanded classification of neotropic spiders of the Haplogynae variety; 3) a detailed study of the pharmacological effects of Tityus paraensis scorpion poison; 4) a study of plants \u2013 also regarded as basic inhibitors to animal toxins – that are used as antidotes against the venom of snake species in the Amazon region; and, in the medical field, 5) the expansion of knowledge about the symptoms of poisoning from animal toxins as well as the process involved through the use of reports and follow-up data on patients treated at the Santar\u00e9m municipal hospital, as well as studies into the history of public health at Belterra, in Par\u00e1.<\/p>\n

The effort achieved results that went beyond what was initially expected, largely owing to the support of experienced researchers from the Butantan Institute and experts who had previously been dispersed throughout Para\u2019s research centers. Now working together, these researchers recall what Ot\u00e1vio Mercadante – the institute\u2019s director and coordinator of the program at its inception \u2013 often said: \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have made any sense to do anything together if we didn\u2019t draw on the local expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the first 2006 meeting of Butantan experts and specialists from institutions in the state of Par\u00e1 that took place in Santar\u00e9m, Mercadante had brought together the support of city and state governments, Par\u00e1 and S\u00e3o Paulo foundations that finance research, and even the ministries of Education and Science and Technology to carry forward studies along three paths: the biodiversity of the Amazon region, the processes of animal toxins and the region\u2019s public-health history. In addition, a study is underway with physicians and local health officials looking at treatment options in cases of accidents involving venomous animals. Furthermore, the Butantan team has put together and distributed a booklet on the region\u2019s venomous animals.<\/p>\n

\"Surucucu

INSTITUTO BUTANTAN\/ANTONIO COR DA COSTA<\/span>Surucucu (Lachesis muta<\/em>)INSTITUTO BUTANTAN\/ANTONIO COR DA COSTA<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The partnership that united the teams and the two states has proved to be a productive one. \u201cThis year, Hip\u00f3crates Chalkidis from the Goeldi Museum\u2019s post-graduate program will have concluded his doctoral research, and Val\u00e9ria Moura Mour\u00e3o, from the post-graduate program in natural resources of the Amazon region at the Federal University of Par\u00e1 (UFPA), will have completed her master\u2019s. These are no small achievements,\u201d says Ana Moura, who, in addition to her research work at Butantan, teaches in the post-graduate program in natural resources of the Amazon region at UFPA, in Santar\u00e9m. There are another four master\u2019s programs as well as three specialization programs underway at the Butantan Institute, all attended by students from the state of Par\u00e1 who can do part of their work in S\u00e3o Paulo before returning to complete their tasks in their own region.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of 2009,\u201d says Moura, \u201cmeetings with community organizations and Par\u00e1-based institutions forged ahead with inflows of INCT-Tox and FAPESP funds targeted for research and scholarships for students from Santar\u00e9m and S\u00e3o Paulo. We just approved two major phases with the Coordinating Agency for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) that involved over R$ 7 million in financing for research projects and scholarships that will include the participation of research centers from Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increasingly more inter-institutional and national in scope, even to the point of attracting the interest of biomedical research groups from abroad, the Butantan Institute\u2019s Amazon region research program is currently comprised of more than 50 qualified professionals from at least 12 federal, state and local institutions concerned with the environment, science and public health.<\/p>\n

Collaboration among the teams facilitates the search for new remedies from the plant and animal toxins from the Amazon region. It also puts to good use the investments already made in buildings, equipment and human resources in S\u00e3o Paulo. Some researchers work towards a better understanding of how scorpion venom can affect humans, thereby developing new poison-control methods, while others attempt to develop biodegradable chemical compounds to use against scorpions where they tend to thrive in large numbers.<\/p>\n

The researchers also extract venom from the snakes they collect in the Tapaj\u00f3s National Forest and they are learning more about its effects by conducting experiments on laboratory animals. One of the Butantan groups is currently examining the effectiveness of serums that the institute produces on a regular basis as remedies against snake bites, with particular attention on the coagulation of blood. \u201cWe\u2019re delving deeper into studies about the changes in coagulation that are caused by animal toxins,\u201d says Moura.<\/p>\n

\"Par\u00e1

INSTITUTO BUTANTAN\/ANTONIO COR DA COSTA<\/span>Par\u00e1 black scorpion (Tityus obscurus<\/em>)INSTITUTO BUTANTAN\/ANTONIO COR DA COSTA<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Snakes and scorpions<\/strong>
\nBiologist and future PhD recipient Hip\u00f3crates Chalkidis began his trajectory through this project more than two years ago with frequent sojourns to the Tapaj\u00f3s National Forest to collect snakes with biology students from the Tapaj\u00f3s Integrated Colleges (FIT) where he is a professor. The traps set for the snakes also captured scorpions and spiders that were then studied and used as raw material to expand understanding of the region\u2019s biological diversity.<\/p>\n

The work of collecting poisons for research into new toxins brought together specialists from S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s scientific center and physicians from Par\u00e1. Chalkidis and his team were able to capture specimens of the Par\u00e1 black scorpion, Tityus obscurus, the species responsible for the majority of reported scorpion bites in Brazil\u2019s Northern region. With these creatures in hand, the Butantan team increased the amount of information available about antidotes to their venoms.<\/p>\n

Pedro Pardal of the Federal University of Par\u00e1 (UFPA) in Bel\u00e9m is conducting a parallel research effort into the biodiversity of the Amazon region. Pardal began studying the black scorpion to determine what made it genetically unique, largely because the species shows varying degrees of venom lethality from one region of the state of Par\u00e1 to another.<\/p>\n

Spiders<\/strong>
\nIn contrast to the scorpions and snakes that are so prevalent in the region, spiders have taken a longer time to enter the scope of the project on toxins in the Amazon region owing to insufficient availability of live specimens to supply venom for effective studies. Then things began to change. Butantan Institute biologist Antonio Brescovit, who began exploring the forests of the Northern region 20 years ago when the trip from Santar\u00e9m to Bel\u00e9m could only be accomplished by a week-long boat trip, is now conducting intensive studies on spiders of the Haplogyne variety throughout South America as part of a project approved last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy team and I intend to deepen the understanding of these more primitive spiders, including the brown spider that can cause people serious problems, even death,\u201d says Brescovit. \u201cThey are rare creatures that are difficult to capture and hard to work with because we examine the most miniscule genitalia to determine the differences among the species. As a matter of fact, there are very few studies about this variety of spiders in South America, as well as many gaps in our knowledge about the species of the Northern region,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"New

RAFAEL INDICATTI<\/span>New bird-spider species (Acanthoscurria geniculata<\/em>)RAFAEL INDICATTI<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Research usually focuses on the most attractive spider species, especially those that spin webs, and generally ignores smaller varieties like the brown spider. To Brescovit, this practice is \u201ca mistake, especially since this species can be dangerous.\u201d He points to a paradox with the claim that \u201cmost people are afraid of tarantulas, but their poison is weak and practically innocuous compared to that of brown spiders.\u201d The latter variety comprises 11 species that are found in Brazil, and the Butantan team has yet to describe another 14 or 15 new varieties.<\/p>\n

Some of the team\u2019s efforts involve acquiring knowledge of the spider species that inhabit Par\u00e1. The researchers have already identified a new species of tarantula in the Amazon region of the genus Acanthoscurria that can measure up to 30 mm and will likely be named after the town where it was found – Belterra \u2013 and where Butantan will house an advanced research center and laboratories open to students and teachers.<\/p>\n

The Butantan Institute has had contact with the animals of the Amazon rainforest for a long time. Due to the difficulty in communication and transportation, the region remained isolated from other areas of Brazil until the early twentieth century. However, according to a survey by Maria de F\u00e1tima Furtado and Myriam Calleffo published Cadernos de Hist\u00f3ria da Ci\u00eancia, Em\u00edlia Snethlage, then director of the Goeldi Museum in Bel\u00e9m, managed to send a collection of snakes from Par\u00e1 to the Butantan Institute in 1914 for classification and safekeeping. This practice has continued without interruption, and the S\u00e3o Paulo institute is today home to 6,625 varieties from 213 locations in the Amazon region.<\/p>\n

In 1924, Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha, the institute\u2019s first director, hired the physician Jean Vellard to assist with the identification of venomous spiders. Vellard and Campanha collaborated on the development of a serum against the venom of the wolf spider, the Lycosa raptoria, studied the toxicity of other spiders, identified new species and conducted numerous expeditions to the Amazon region to collect animals.<\/p>\n

Today, the entire Amazon region is undergoing intense deforestation that is supposedly changing the dynamic between animals and the environment. To understand what is actually taking place, Lisle Gibbs, professor of molecular ecology at the Ohio State University, visited Santar\u00e9m in March to take part in field work, lecture, and talk with the researchers from Par\u00e1 and S\u00e3o Paulo who continue their work together. \u201cAmong other things,\u201d says Moura, \u201cwe want to understand the type of genetic variation taking place in that area that has been undergoing intense deforestation for the past 30 years, and how this process affects the species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Projects
\n1<\/strong>. Amazon region actions subprogram (n\u00ba 2008\/57898-0<\/a>) (2009-2014); Grant Mechanism\u00a0<\/strong>Thematic project;\u00a0Coordinator\u00a0<\/strong>Ana Moura da Silva \u2013 Butantan Institute;\u00a0Investment\u00a0<\/strong>R$ 345,000.00.
\n2<\/strong>.The nature of neotropic spiders of the Haplogynae variety (Arachnida, Araneae<\/em>) (n\u00ba 2011\/50689-0<\/a>) (2011-2016);\u00a0Grant Mechanism\u00a0<\/strong>Thematic project; Coordinator <\/strong>Antonio Domingos Brescovit – Butantan Institute;\u00a0Investment\u00a0<\/strong>R$ 814,653.03.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles
\n<\/em>CALVETE, J. J. et al<\/em>. Snake population venomics and antivenomics of Bothrops atrox: paedomorphism along its transamazonian dispersal and implications of geographic venom variability on snakebite management<\/a>. Journal of Proteomics<\/strong>. v. 74, n. 4, p. 510-27, 2011.
\nLUCAS, S. M. et al.<\/em> Redescription and new distribution records of Acanthoscurria natalensis (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae). <\/a>Zoologia<\/strong>. v. 28, n.4, p. 525\u201330, 2011.<\/p>\n

From our archives
\n<\/strong>Venoms in the forest<\/a> –<\/em>\u00a0Issue 167 \u2013 January, 2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teams from S\u00e3o Paulo and Par\u00e1 collaborate to prepare new researchers","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1237],"tags":[206,266],"coauthors":[419],"class_list":["post-125206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology-special-2","tag-biodiversity","tag-zoology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125206"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=125206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}