Many species in the country require human intervention to ensure their conservation. The genetic diversity analysis allows not only knowing the existing gene heritage in biological systems, but also establishing the bases for risk prevention of species extinction and for biodiversity conservation.

This analysis includes the genetic study of populations, which makes it possible to meet management and conservations programs that are a priority in the national task to assess and use the biotic resources in the country sustainably.

The objectives of this project include genetic analysis diversity, understanding as such the one included in genetic, morphologic, biochemical, and physiological diversity, and the development of the biological entities at the level of populations and species for their knowledge, management, and conservation.

We expect to understand the origin, continuance, and evolution of this genetic diversity at different spatial-temporal scales with emphasis in Northwest Mexico. We are trying to associate the inspection of genetic diversity with ecological, economic, and political problems of the primary and secondary sectors in the country under research agendas that will allow synergies with other research and technological development centers.

For these reasons we are also performing studies on Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography, and are planning to perform studies at the same time on structural, comparative, and functional genomics to develop potential research models for disciplines such as, Biomedicine, Pharmacogenetics, and Toxicology that deal with the vast range of genes found in Mexican biodiversity.

We are also establishing databases on genetic diversity of ecologically relevant and endemic species and groups, and of those with potential use in biotechnology and aquaculture

The peninsula of Baja California represents an excellent biological laboratory for the study of historical and comparative biogeography. Landscape and biota in general are the result of very dynamic geological events and climate changes. In this study we intend to analyze the effects left by old (late Miocene) and recent (Pleistocene) vicariant events, as well as climate changes of the Holocene on the genetic structure and phylogeography of some invertebrate species and microorganisms co-distributed in the northwestern region of Mexico.

To perceive if current biota of the peninsula of Baja California are assembled by vicariant processes or global climate changes or by both, a comparative phylogeography analysis is pertinent.

What makes this proposal original is the following:

1. The use of organisms not considered in previous research;
2. The species we are dealing with in the different taxonomic groups show the capacity of differential dispersion; this characteristic allows us to contrast the biogeographic hypotheses;
3. The use of a common collection strategy;
4. The use of the same molecular markers (mitochondrial DNA; chloroplastic DNA in case of column and microsatellite cactacea, both for plants and animals); this strategy will allow studying genes with comparative mutation rates;
5. Finally, the proposel of using new ways of dealing with genetic data to verify the genetica diversity patterns observed in the organism under study.

Comparative phylogeography studies have only been performed in plant and metazoan groups; there is no information on cyanobacteria, which is why this part of our research will provide new data in our intent on interpreting geological history and climate of the northwestern region  of Mexico. See projecto Comparative philogeography (resaltar para liga en posgrado)

Some species of interest are:

Wolf spiders Pardosa sierra and Arctosa littoralis

Cactacea Pachycereus pringlei and Stenocereus gummosus

This project was performed in collaboration with the following CIBNOR researchers