My work covers the role of epigenetics in adaptation, using marine species as models, contributing to the understanding of the evolutionary implications of epigenetics. My previous research has tested the hypothesis that epigenetic variation increases the potential of a species to respond to environmental change. I used high throughput sequencing techniques to study the genome, the transcriptome and the epigenome of Australasian snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) under different thermal regimes. In parallel, my interests have focused on the role of epigenetics in the emergence of the phenotype. I studied the effects of intrinsic factors, e.g. ageing and sex, or environmental factors, e.g. temperature and the farming environment, on the DNA methylation and gene expression patterns of fishes during development and in adulthood. Previously, I mainly used the European sea bass as a vertebrate model for my studies, but I have also worked with other fish species (e.g. Atlantic salmon, Nile tilapia, zebrafish). My work on epigenetics in fishes has followed four major axes: 1) modelling the impacts of rapid climate change through temperature fluctuations, 2) emergence of the sexual phenotype, 3) domestication as a process of adaptation to human-made environments, and 4) ageing and epigenetic clocks for accurate age prediction urgently needed for fisheries assessment and conservation.

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