History

The Evolutionary Cytogenetics Lab, was formerly known as Fish Cytogenetics Lab (1970-2023). Brazilian Fish Cytogenetics began in the 1970s, gradually achieving international recognition. In this same decade, the Fish Cytogenetics Lab at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) was implemented, consolidating itself based on Prof. Dr. Luiz Antonio Carlos Bertollo, focusing on aspects of karyotypic evolution in the Erythrinidae family. During its initial implementation phase, the laboratory also had the collaboration of Dr. Fausto Foresti, as a guiding professor. Numerous Brazilian and South American master's and doctoral students, notably from Argentina and Uruguay, have been trained over the years, expanding chromosomal investigations to several groups of Neotropical fish. Two of these initial students also actively participated in the history of the laboratory, following their integration into the UFSCar faculty: Prof. Dr. Orlando Moreira Filho, in 1978, and Prof. Dr. Pedro Manoel Galetti Jr., in 1981. Therefore, from this last year onwards, a solid research group made up of Profs. L.A.C. Bertollo, O. Moreira-Filho, and P.M. Galetti Jr. led this laboratory, guiding many doctoral, master's, and scientific initiation students. Prof. Galetti later left the field of Cytogenetics, returning his research activities to the field of Molecular Biodiversity and conservation. Notably, many of the laboratory's Alumni were incorporated as teachers and/or researchers in various teaching and research institutions, thus expanding investigations in Fish Cytogenetics. Around 30 research groups were created from these Alumni, currently distributed across the North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South regions of Brazil and Argentina. Currently, the Lab is under the coordination of Prof. Marcelo de Bello Cioffi, a researcher and also an alumnus of this laboratory and professor at UFSCar since 2014, expanding the chromosomal analysis with cutting-edge technologies to other Vertebrate groups.  

In 1986, our laboratory hosted the first Symposium on Fish Cytogenetics and Genetics, which continues to be held biennially and is currently in its 20th edition.