Uncovering how sex, fusion, and evolution intersect in unicellular life

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Illustrative composition, not an experimental image.

Sex as an Evolutionary Innovation

Sex is one of life’s most profound transitions, a process that reshapes genomes, mixes lineages, and fuels evolution.
Yet, in many microorganisms, it remains elusive, fragmented, or hidden.

By studying how single-celled eukaryotes reproduce, we can approach one of biology’s oldest questions: how did sex evolve, and why was it maintained?

Our lab investigates the molecular and evolutionary origins of sexual reproduction through the lens of Leishmania, an early-diverging eukaryote that performs its cryptic sexual cycle inside the sand fly vector.

By uncovering how fusion and recombination operate in this system, we aim to reveal what sex looked like at the dawn of eukaryotic evolution.

 

From genes to fusion: decoding sexual reproduction in Leishmania

Dual infection of the sand fly midgut with GFP- and mCherry-expressing parental strains.
Dual infection of the sand fly midgut with GFP- and mCherry-expressing parental strains.
HAP2-tagged promastigotes expressing mNeonGreen in the thoracic midgut.
HAP2-tagged promastigotes expressing mNeonGreen in the thoracic midgut.

Project: Cracking the Cryptic: Tracking Hidden Sex in Leishmania, a Protozoan Parasite
Funding: São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
Grant number: 2025/08431-8

Grant period: 2025-2030

This project investigates how sexual reproduction is initiated, regulated, and executed in Leishmania.

By combining barcoded loss- and gain-of-function libraries, in vivo sand fly infections, and single-cell multiomic analyses, we identify the molecular markers and pathways that enable fusion, meiosis-like processes, and hybrid formation inside the vector.

We then validate the most promising targets through focused genetic manipulation and hybridization assays, linking gene function to parasite differentiation, fitness, and sexuality.

Together, these approaches reveal what sex looks like in a primitive eukaryote, exposing its cellular architecture, genetic logic, and evolutionary continuity with the broader eukaryotic lineage.