The Jiggins Lab Webpage

Cristina Ariani

Research Interests

Mosquitoes are vector of a great number of human diseases, such as dengue fever, yellow fever and filariasis. The insect’s immune system relies on humoral and cellular responses, which have evolved to fight against parasites. A successful immune response may bring a cost to the insect in reduced fitness, which may impose a restriction on resistant genotypes to persist in a population. I am interested to answer questions related to the costs and benefits of being resistant, and how the mosquito Aedes aegypti would be affected by the infection of the filarial nematode Brugia malayi. I also aim to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to fitness costs. There are two main hypotheses to be tested: firstly whether the same gene affects resistance, costs of infection and costs of resistance; and secondly, whether these effects are sex linked. Furthermore, I am interested to map the location of two genes: the meiotic driver and the autogeny gene. The former is responsible for distorting the sex ratio of the offspring and the latter confers to females the ability to lay eggs without blood feeding.

Education and Employment

2010 - Present PhD candidate, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK

2008 - 2010 Research Assistant, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK

2007 - 2008 MSc Ecology and Evolution, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil

Spring 2004 Volunteer, American Museum of Natural History's Southwestern Research Station, Arizona, USA

2002 - 2005 Internships at the following laboratories: Laboratory of Marine Biology (Dr Maria Cordélia Machado), Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Malaria (Dr Mariano Zalis), Laboratory of Vertebrates Ecology (Dr Carlos Frederico D Rocha).

2002 - 2005 BSc Biology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil

Publications

Pickles, R. S. A., Groombridge, J. J., Rojas, V. D. Z., Damme, P., Gottelli, D., Ariani, C. V. & Jordan, W. C. 2012 Genetic diversity and population structure in the endangered giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis. Conservation Genetics 13, 235-245.

Ariani, C. V., Menezes, V. A., Vrcibradic, D. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2011 An unusual ecology among whiptails: the case of Cnemidophorus lacertoides from a restinga habitat in southern Brazil. Journal of Natural History 45, 2605-2625.

Pickles, R. S. A., Groombridge, J. J., Rojas, V. D. Zambrana, Damme, P., Gottelli, D., Ariani, C. V. & Jordan, W. C. 2011 Evolutionary history and identification of conservation units in the giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61, 616-627.

Bursey, C. R., Rocha, C. F. D., Menezes, V. A., Ariani, C. V. & Vricibradic, D. 2010 New species of Oochoristica (Cestoda; Linstowiidae) and other endoparasites of Trachylepis atlantica (Sauria: Scincidae) from Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil. Zootaxa 2715, 45-54.

Vrcibradic, D., Ariani, C. V., Sluys, M. V. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2010 Amphibia, Leptodactylidae, Paratelmatobius mantiqueira Pombal and Haddad, 1999: Distribution extension. Check List Journal of Species Lists and Distribution 6, 1-2.

Almeida-Gomes, M., Almeida-Santos, M., Goyannes-Araújo, P., Borges-Júnior, V N T., Vrcibradic, D., Siqueira, C C, Ariani, C V, Dias, A S, Souza, V V, Pinto, R R, Van Sluys, M & Rocha, C F D. 2010 Anurofauna of an Atlantic Rainforest fragment and its surroundings in Northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 70, 871-877.

Rocha, C. F. D., Siqueira, C. C. & Ariani, C. V. 2009 The endemic and threatened lizard Liolaemus lutzae (Squamata: Liolaemidae): current geographic distribution and areas of occurrence with estimated population densities. Zoologia Curitiba Impresso 26, 454-460.

Rocha, C. F. D., Vrcibradic, D., Menezes, V. A. & Ariani, C. V. 2009 Ecology and Natural History of the Easternmost Native Lizard Species in South America, Trachylepis atlantica (Scincidae), from the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 43, 450-459.

Rocha, C. F. D., Siqueira, C. C. & Ariani, C. V. 2009 A potential recovery of a population of the sand lizard Liolaemus lutzae Mertens, 1938 in an area within its range: a lizard endemic and threatened with extinction. Brazilian Journal of Biology 69, 185-7.

Nunes-Freitas, A. F., Rocha-Pessôa, T. C. da, Dias, A. dos S., Ariani, C. V. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2009 Bromeliaceae da Ilha Grande, RJ: revisão da lista de espécies. Biota Neotropica 9, 213-219.

Siqueira, C C, Vrcibradic, D, Almeida-Gomes, M, Borges-Junior, V N T, Almeida-Santos, P, Almeida-Santos, M, Ariani, C V, Guedes, D M, Goyannes-Araújo, P, Dorigo, T A, Sluys, M, Rocha, C F D. 2009 Density and richness of leaf litter frogs (Amphibia: Anura) of an Atlantic Rainforest area in the Serra dos Órgãos, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Zoologia 26, 97-102.

Almeida-Gomes, M, Vrcibradic, D, Siqueira, C C, Kiefer, M C, Klaion, T, Almeida-Santos, P, Nascimento, D, Ariani, C V, Borges-Junior, V N T, Freitas-Filho, R F, Van Sluys, M, Rocha, C F D. 2008 Herpetofauna of an Atlantic rainforest area (Morro São João) in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 80, 291-300.

Rocha, C. F. D., Ariani, C. V., Menezes, V. A. & Vrcibradic, D. 2008 Effects of a fire on a population of treefrogs (Scinax cf. alter, Lutz) in a restinga habitat in southern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 68, 539-543.

Ariani, C. V., Rocha, C. F. D. & Van Sluys, M. 2006 Thamnodynastes strigilis Natural History: Prey. Herpetological Review 37, 235.

Ariani, C. V., Siqueira, C. C. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2006 Liolaemus lutzae. Predation. Herpetological Review 37, 467.

Siqueira, C. C., Van Sluys, M., Ariani, C. V. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2006 Feeding Ecology of Thoropa miliaris (Anura, Cycloramphidae) in Four Areas of Atlantic Rain Forest, Southeastern Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 40, 520-525.

Siqueira, C. C., Ariani, C. V., Van Sluys, M. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2006 Thoropa miliaris. Tadpole predation. Herpetological Review 37, 451-452.

Vrcibradic, D., Rocha, C. F. D., Menezes, V. A. & Ariani, C. V. 2004 Mabuya dorsivittata Geographic distribution. Herpetological Review 35, 409.

Rocha, C. F. D., Cogliatti-Carvalho, L., Freitas, A. F. N., Rocha-Pessoa, T. C., Dias, A. S., Ariani, C. V. & Morgado, L. N. 2004 Conservando uma larga porção da diversidade biológica através da conservação de Bromeliaceae. Vidalia 2, 52-68.

Vrcibradic, D., Rocha, C. F. D., Menezes, V. A. & Ariani, C. V. 2004 Cnemidophorus lacertoides Geographic distribution. Herpetological Review 35, 408.

Ariani, C. V., Menezes, V. A., Vrcibradic, D. & Rocha, C. F. D. 2004 The negative effect of fire on populations of three bromeliad species at a restinga habitat in the southernstate of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Vidalia 2, 44-48.

Book

Rocha, C. F. D., Siqueira, C. C. & Ariani, C. V. 2009 A conservação de Liolaemus lutzae: Lagarto endêmico das restingas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro ameaçado de extinção. 1st ed. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Biomas. 40p.

Book chapter

Rocha, C. F. D., Ariani, C. V. & Siqueira, C. C. 2008 Liolaemus lutzae Mertens, 1938. In Livro vermelho da fauna brasileira ameaçada de extinção Vol II (eds A. B. M. Machado G. M. Drummond & A. P. Paglia), pp. 345-347. Brasília: Fundação Biodiversitas.