Mitogenomics and Evolution

Our research is focused on Mitochondrial DNA as a molecular marker of choice for many applications in Evolutionary Biology. We face the complex problem of Evolution using the “Up-to-date” techniques and analyzing non-canonical and innovative model systems. Actually, unusual model systems are likely to give significant contributions in answering basic biological questions, since they unveil characteristics that are hidden in standard ones.

Our research should be divided into 2 subprojects as follows:

Mitogenomics and Mitochondrial Inheritance

The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is a good model system for comparative evolutionary genomics. In particular, the feature of some bivalves (Doubly Uniparental Inheritance, DUI), which carry two highly divergent mitochondrial genomes (one transmitted by father, the other by mother), make them a unique system to test for mitochondrial genome evolution and recombination. DUI is also a choice model to address many aspects of interest to a wide range of biological sub-fields, such as mitochondria inheritance, mtDNA evolution and recombination, genomic conflicts, evolution of sex, developmental biology, etc.

Phylogenetics and evolutionary biology 

The Mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is one of the most information-rich molecular markers in phylogenetics. Comparative mitochondrial genomics is becoming a powerful approach to resolve phylogenetic relationships among distantly related taxa. Moreover, mtDNA genes are largely used for phylogenetic reconstruction. We approach Mollusca and Arthropoda phylogenetics by analyzing selected genes and the whole mtDNA. The unusual reproductive features of stick insects  (Phasmida), including parthenogenesis, hybridogenesis and androgenesis, make them also a model of choice to address microevolutionary patterns. Actually, such tangled reproductive interactions lead to the complex phyletic relationships known as “reticulate evolution”.

Research Group

Marco Passamonti (Researcher)

Fabrizio Ghiselli (PostDoc)

Liliana Milani (PhD Student)

Federico Plazzi (PhD Student)

Valerio Scali (retired Full Professor)