My thesis with Frederic Delsuc is based on a project that will study both molecular convergence to the myrmecophagous diet and also will allow to carry out species delimitation at the genomic scale within xenarthran species.
The first part of the project will aim to complete the ongoing analyses on the coding fraction of the genomes of myrmecophagous mammals by studying the now non-coding fraction. Thus, comparative analyses on more than 150 mammalian genomes will be conducted in order to identify changes in the non-coding regions associated with convergence to the myrmecophagous diet.
The second part of the project will exploit the reference genomes of xenarthran species to implement species delimitation studies based on the re-sequencing of individuals. These analyses will improve the understanding of gene flow and local adaptations for three species complexes: the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), the silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), and the three-toed sloths (Bradypus spp.).