Research
Last updated: Jan 08, 2025
Here you can find the description of the research lines I am currently working on, alongside selected papers and key collaborators for each. Feel free to get in touch for anything you'd like to discuss!
Outlook
Evolution of phototransduction in early animals
Light detection is a fundamental process in animals: it regulates physiology and behaviour, synchronises daily light/dark cycles, and enables image formation. In most lineages, this process is initiated by opsins, a group of photosensitive G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are able to convert light into electric signals. While opsins have been described in nearly all metazoan phyla, little is known about the distribution and expression of the phototransduction genes that work with them, particularly in non-bilaterian animals.
How has the photostransduction cascade evolved? What is its degree of conservation among animal phyla? What can non-bilaterian animals tell us about the emergence of light detection in animals?
In this research line, I am leveraging the latest advancements in single-cell RNA-sequecing, comparative genomics, and fluorescent microscopy to tackle these open questions.
Main collaborators
- Prof. Roberto Feuda (University of Bologna; University of Leicester) and prof. Davide Pisani (University of Bristol).
- Dongfeng Wang (postdoc; University of Leicester); Christopher Kay (postdoc; University of Bristol); Clifton Lewis (postdoc; University of Galway); and Matthew Goulty (postdoc; University of Leuven).
- Ruman Kalid (PhD student; University of Leicester) and DaeNia La Rodé (PhD student; University of Leicester).
Sex determination and germline biology of bivalves
Bivalves are among the most profitable resources in aquacolture, yet many aspects of their biology are still understudied. Particularly, bivalves may serve as impactful models to study the evolution of sex determination and reproductive processes, as they exhibit many different sexual systems. One key aspect of bivalve biology is the presence in several species of the doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) of mitochondria, where both female and male mitochondria are transmitted uniparentally to the female and male offspring, respectively.
How is sex determined in different bivalve species? What is the interplay between sex determination, germline formation, and DUI? How have genomes adapted to these processes?
Thanks to broad scale comparative genomics studies, bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing, and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) in bivalve embryos, I am investigating the potential role of key genes in processes such as sex determination and germline specification in bivalves, with a special focus on the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis).
Main collaborators
- Prof. Liliana Milani (University of Bologna); prof. Fabrizio Ghiselli (University of Bologna); prof. Sergey V Nuzhdin (University of Southern California); and Erico D'Aniello (researcher; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn).
- Mariangela Iannello (former postdoc; University of Bologna) and Giovanni Piccinini (former postdoc; University of Bologna).
- Federica Salatiello (PhD student; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn).
Comparative and population genomics of red wood ants
Under construction 👷
Main collaborators
- Prof. Fabrizio Ghiselli (University of Bologna); prof. Andrea Luchetti (University of Bologna); prof. Lino Ometto (University of Pavia); and prof. Liliana Milani (University of Bologna).
- Giobbe Forni (postdoc; University of Bologna); Jacopo Martelossi (postdoc; University of Ferrara); and Alberto Masoni (postdoc; University of Florence).
- Mirko Martini (PhD student; University of Bologna); Enrico Strada (University of Bologna).
Molecular and morphological evolution
Under construction 👷
Main collaborators
- Prof. Andrea Luchetti (University of Bologna).
- Giobbe Forni (postdoc; University of Bologna) and Jacopo Martelossi (postdoc; University of Ferrara).
- Niccolò Righetti (PhD student; Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure).