Nos dias de hoje está cada vez mais complicado aceder a verbas da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) para projectos de investigação. Actualmente, a colocação dos Açores na mesma direcção do desenvolvimento científico e tecnológico da União Europeia revela-se essencial para o desenvolvimento da Região. A necessidade de adquirir e integrar novas técnicas e metodologias de investigação de forma a estudar parte do potencial biológico e assim impulsionar a produção científica açoriana compõe um dos principais objectivos a alcançar no decorrer dos próximos 3 anos com o nosso mais recente projecto. Um projecto extremamente inovador no campo da genómica e transcriptómica de organismos que vivem em campos geotermais terrestre, em que as Furnas, na ilha de São Miguel é sem duvida o mais conhecido. O Projecto intitulado “Uma fornalha Açoriana de evolução: afinando ferramentas moleculares e genéticas para filogeografia e ecotoxicogenómica utilizando um organismo sentinela pantropical, habitante de ambientes extremos de origem vulcânica” recebeu a cotação de excelente pela comissão avaliadora da FCT e encontra-se neste momento a iniciar o seu plano de trabalhos. Um projecto a ser desenvolvido na Universidade dos Açores, polo de Ponta Delgada, em conjunto com a Universidade de Cardiff, no Reino Unido e o Laboratorio nacional de genomica para a biodiversidade, no Mexico. Este projecto nasce dos trabalhos desenvolvidos actualmente no doutoramento de Luis Cunha, aluno da Universidade dos Açores, que em conjunto com a equipa liderada pelo Professor catedrático John Andrew Morgan da Universidade de Cardiff e o Professor Peter Kille concluíram que existiam condições para desenvolver um trabalho muito interessante do ponto de vista da comunidade científica internacional. O projecto a ser liderado na Universidade dos Açores, pelo Dr. Armindo Rodrigues e será sem duvida um projecto que dará para falar durante os próximos tempos. Resumidamente, no campo geotermal das Furnas foi encontrada uma população de um organismo tropical, uma minhoca de terra denominada de Pontoscolex corethrurus, que dada aos limites da sua biologia só nos solos quentes das furnas poderia sobreviver em uma latitude tão longe dos trópicos. Mais do que viver ai de forma saudável, estes organismos suportam as condições extremas deste ambiente tão particular, tais como, altos níveis de hipoxia (baixos níveis de oxigénio da atmosfera envolvente), altas e instáveis temperaturas, composição química variada e rica em elementos raros tais como os metais pesados, e um pH ácido. A primeira tarefa será compreender como esta espécie chegou aos Açores e quais as diferenças que existem com as suas congéneres dos trópicos. A segunda parte do projecto será a de implementar e integrar ferramentas de investigação de ponta na área da trasncriptómica, uma área extremamente interessante do ponto de vista tecnológico, que terá como objectivo descobrir o que estes organismos produzem e como resistem a tal ambiente.

O projecto será iniciado em Outubro de 2010.

Our most recent work entitled "Morphometry of the epidermis of an invasive megascoelecid earthworm (Amynthas gracilis, Kinberg 1867) inhabiting actively volcanic soils in the Azores archipelago" by the authors Luis Cunha, Itxaso Campos, Rafael Montiel, Armindo Rodrigues, and Andrew J. Morgan reveals how earthworms of the genus Amynthas show to be well adapted to the extreme environment in soils of a geothermal field in the Azores Archipelago. By changing cellular content, structure and properties of their epidermis these earthworms revealed different morphotypes accordingly to the degree of exposure to the high temperature, acid pH and hypoxia.

Abstract: "For the first time, the structure, dimensions, and composition of the epidermis of an invasive earthworm species that has successfully colonized hostile conditions in actively volcanic soil on São Miguel (Azores) have been measured. Metal concentrations in actively volcanic (Furnas) and volcanically inactive (Fajã) soils were similar; however, Furnas soil was characterised by elevated temperature (10 °C differential), relative hypoxia, extremely high CO₂ tension, and accompanying acidity. The epidermis of earthworm’s resident at Fajã was approximately twice the thickness of the epidermis of conspecifics resident in Furnas soil. Reference worms transferred to Furnas soil for 14 days experienced an epidermal thinning of approximately 51%. In comparison, when Furnas earthworms were transferred to mesocosms at the relatively benign Fajã site, their epidermal thickness increased by approximately 21% over 14 days. Earthworms resident in Furnas soil had higher goblet cell counts than the residents of volcanically inactive soil on a neighbouring island (S. Maria). Transferring worms from S. Maria to mesocosms at Furnas induced a significant increase in goblet cell counts. Clearly, the active volcanic environment at Furnas poses a multifactorial stress challenge to the epigeic A. gracilis colonizer."

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Our most recent research project entitled "An Azorean furnace of evolution: honing molecular-genetic tools for phylogeography and ecotoxicogenomics in a pantropical sentinel inhabiting multi-stressor volcanic soil" has recently been approved for financial support from FCT (Portuguese Science Foundation).

Such research project will attempt to elucidate the influence of long-term mixed stress in a geogenic habitat on the population structure and possible genetic differentiation of a potential pantropical sentinel species, the earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus. The value added aspect of this research will be technology development and transfer through the acquisition of a rich body of DNA sequences that can readily be used for subsequent functional studies, using customized microarray and QPCR technologies that are routinely used at Cardiff University. Our core concerns in the project will be pursued via a robust series of field-based genetic experiments designed to test three generic hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: P. corethrurus displays a low background degree of genetic diversity on individual Azorean islands compared with possible source populations.


Hypothesis 2:Locally adapted populations within volcanically active soils are genetically distinct from the ‘background’ populations; adaptation is genetically determined either as a fixed resistant phenotype or as a plastic phenotype, but is not merely a function of continuous immigration of individuals from volcanically benign adjacent sites.


Hypothesis 3: Tolerance to the elevated metal ion concentrations within the volcanic soils is dependent on the elevation of metallo-chaperones, metallothionein or phylochelatins, together with generic stress response pathways.


The focal point of the study will be the active volcanic site at Furnas, San Miguel.

Our most recent work entitled "Morphometry of the epidermis of an invasive megascoelecid earthworm (Amynthas gracilis, Kinberg 1867) inhabiting actively volcanic soils in the Azores archipelago" by the authors Luis Cunha, Itxaso Campos, Rafael Montiel, Armindo Rodrigues, and Andrew J. Morgan reveals how earthworms of the genus Amynthas show to be well adapted to the extreme environment in soils of a geothermal field in the Azores Archipelago. By changing cellular content, structure and properties of their epidermis these earthworms revealed different morphotypes accordingly to the degree of exposure to the high temperature, acid pH and hypoxia.

Abstract: "For the first time, the structure, dimensions, and composition of the epidermis of an invasive earthworm species that has successfully colonized hostile conditions in actively volcanic soil on São Miguel (Azores) have been measured. Metal concentrations in actively volcanic (Furnas) and volcanically inactive (Fajã) soils were similar; however, Furnas soil was characterised by elevated temperature (10 °C differential), relative hypoxia, extremely high CO₂ tension, and accompanying acidity. The epidermis of earthworm’s resident at Fajã was approximately twice the thickness of the epidermis of conspecifics resident in Furnas soil. Reference worms transferred to Furnas soil for 14 days experienced an epidermal thinning of approximately 51%. In comparison, when Furnas earthworms were transferred to mesocosms at the relatively benign Fajã site, their epidermal thickness increased by approximately 21% over 14 days. Earthworms resident in Furnas soil had higher goblet cell counts than the residents of volcanically inactive soil on a neighbouring island (S. Maria). Transferring worms from S. Maria to mesocosms at Furnas induced a significant increase in goblet cell counts. Clearly, the active volcanic environment at Furnas poses a multifactorial stress challenge to the epigeic A. gracilis colonizer."

LINK