Comparative genomics in Erebia butterflies

I will study chromosomal rearrangement and their impact on speciation in holocentric species, namely Erebia butterflies,

The first goal is to understand what are the genomic features underlying chromosomal fusion and fission sites.

To that end I will assemble and annotate reference genomes for several Erebia species.

I will then investigate the link between chromosomal rearrangements and speciation, in particular if some genomic features are involved in some modes of speciation.

Lastly, I will look into the gene clusters potentially influencing which chromosomes are more likely to be rearranged than others.