Athanasia Tzika

athanasia.tzika@unige.ch
+41 22 379 67 75

I graduated in June 2003 from the Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki, Greece (M.Sc. in Biology). I performed my PhD (October 2003-March 2008) at the University of Brussels (ULB) on conservation/population genetics. After a Post-Doc, I became Research Associate at the  LANE where I am directing research projects focusing on: (i) the evolutionary developmental mechanisms associated with the development of spines in mammals and scales in reptiles, and (ii) the evolution of the reptilian genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes.

Hence, my current research interests include genetics, bioinformatics, comparative geno-/transcripto-/proteo-mics (www.reptilomics.org) as well as ‘Evolutionary Developmental biology’ (Evo-Devo).

Selected publications

  • Genome mapping of a LYST mutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles

    Asier Ullate-Agote, Ingrid Burgelin, Adrien Debry, Carine Langrez, Florent Montange, Rodrigue Peraldi, Jean Daraspe, Henrik Kaessmann, Michel C. Milinkovitch and Athanasia C. Tzika

    PNAS 117, 42: 26307-26317 (2020)

  • Evolution of Cortical Neurogenesis in Amniotes Controlled by Robo Signaling Levels

    Adriàn Càrdenas, Ana Villalba, Camino de Juan Romero, Esther Picò, Christina Kyrousi, Athanasia C. Tzika, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Le Ma, Micha Drukker, Silvia Cappello, Vìctor Borrell

    Cell 174: 590-606.e21 (2018)

  • Reptilian Transcriptomes v2.0: An Extensive Resource for Sauropsida Genomics and Transcriptomics

    Tzika A.C., Ullate-Agote A., Grbic D., M. C. Milinkovitch

    Genome Biology Evolution 7, 6: 1827-1841 (2015)

  • Two waves of anisotropic growth generate enlarged follicles in the spiny mouse

    Sophie A Montandon, Athanasia C Tzika, António F Martins, Bastien Chopard and Michel C Milinkovitch

    EvoDevo 5, 33 (2014)

  • The genome sequence of the corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus), a valuable resource 
for EvoDevo studies in squamates

    Ullate-Agote A., Milinkovitch M.C., A.C. Tzika

    Int. J. Dev. Biol. 58: 881 - 888 (2014)

  • Contrasted evolution of the vomeronasal receptor repertoires in Mammals and Squamate reptiles

    Brykczynska, Tzika, Rodriguez & Milinkovitch

    Genome Biology Evolution 5, 2: 389-401 (2013)

  • 2X genomes - depth does matter

    Milinkovitch M.C., Helaers R., Depiereux E., Tzika A.C., & T. Gabaldon

    Genome Biology 11, 16 (2010)