Current members

Aline Muyle

I am a plant evolutionnary biologist fascinated by molecular evolution and bioinformatics. I have been a permanent researcher at CNRS since 2021, after doing a Postdoc at the University of Californa Irvine and another Postdoc and my PhD at the LBBE in Lyon, France.

Full CV downloadable here.

Yangfan Feng

Yangfan is conducting her PhD under my supervision on the evolution of genomic imprinting and sex chromosomes in plants. She investigates how sex antagonism may drive the evolution of sex-specific imprinting, the role of genomic imprinting in regulating sex-biased gene expression, and the epigenetic mechanisms underlying X-linked imprinting and dosage compensation. Her research integrates DNA methylation, transcriptomic, and histone modification data generated through Oxford Nanopore sequencing, RNA-seq, and CUT & RUN technologies. By comparing species with different sexual systems, including dioecious, monoecious, and hermaphroditic species, she aims to elucidate the role of epigenetics in sex chromosome evolution using Silene, wild spinach and amaranth as model systems.

Alexis Ryo

Alexis is a PhD student co-supervised by Mathilde Dufaÿ and myself at the CEFE and ISEM in Montpellier. His thesis focuses on comparative analyses of sexual dimorphism in the genus Silene, exploring how the age of dioecy (separate sexes) and pollination mode (insect vs. wind) influence the evolution of sex-specific traits. By studying ten Silene species with varying evolutionary histories and pollination strategies, Alexis investigates the mechanisms shaping sexual dimorphism in plants. His work combines field observations, controlled experiments, and statistical analyses to study the evolution of sexual dimorphism.

Ulysse Benvegnen

Ulysse is doing a Master 2 internship on the comparative evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism in Silene. Ulysse is co-supervised by Alexis Ryo, Mathilde Dufaÿ and myself.

Mattéo Todaro

Matteo is completing his Master 1 internship under my supervision. His project investigates the impact of effective population size on the rate of Y chromosome degeneration in five closely related Silene species. By using RNA-seq data and comparative genomics, Matteo explores how genetic drift and selective processes drive the accumulation of deleterious mutations and gene loss on the Y chromosome. Mattéo will test whether effective population size impacts the speed of Y degeneration, helping us understand the forces shaping Y chromosome degeneration in nature.

I also co-supervise a PhD student whose project is led by a collaborator:

Salomé Henry

Salomé is conducting her PhD research at CEFE under the co-supervision of Pierre-Olivier Cheptou and myself. Her project focuses on resurrection ecology and evolutionary selection in Agrostemma githago (corn cockle), a weed species associated with agricultural fields. Using seeds collected over the past three decades, she investigates how recent environmental changes such as climate warming, pollinator decline, and habitat fragmentation have driven rapid phenotypic and genomic evolution in this species. Her work combines common garden experiments, genomic analyses (RadSeq), and demographic modeling to characterize evolutionary changes in life history traits, identify genomic regions under selection, and test whether these adaptations confer a fitness advantage in current environments (evolutionary rescue). By comparing ancestral and modern populations, Salomé also explores the potential for convergent evolution across populations and the feasibility of using ancient seed banks for genetic restoration of lost traits.

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