For my PhD project I am currently working on bivalve comparative genomics to characterize the evolutionary history and genome dynamics of some sex-determination related gene families (Dmrt, Sox and Fox genes), through an integrative approach.
I am also working on: (i) branchiopod comparative genomics with a special focus on Notostraca, to understand the mechanisms underlying their genome reduction and evolution with respect to their kin; (ii) the evolution of wings in walking sticks to understand how wings have been reacquired during the evolution of this group; (iii) the causes and consequences of the doubly uniparental inheritance of mitochondria in bivalves at the molecular level, in particular to understand how genes have been shaped to sustain this kind of process.
