My main research interest concerns the study of molecular phylogenetics and phylogenomics, and evolutionary genomics in arthropods (crustaceans and insects) and in molluscs (mainly bivalves). More in particular, my research lines aim to the understanding of the evolution of animal biodiversity and systematics (at species level or above), of the evolution of characters (morphological and molecular) that characterize the different animal taxa, and to the evolution of genomes. Moreover, I am also interested in the reproductive biology and its effects on the genome evolution, with special emphasis on the evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements. In these research lines I have several collaborations with national and international research groups.
At the present, my main research projects concern:
- Biodiversity genomics and molecular phylogenetics in insects (mainly termites, stick insects and ants).
- Evolutionary genomics in branchiopod crustaceans, with emphasis on the morphological stasis, and in bivalve molluscs.
- Evolution of genomes in parthenogenetic arthropods.
