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Sexual dimorphism of aquaculture traits is common for farmed fish. The Nile tilapia is the second most important farmed species with a production 6 million tons in 2020. Intensive farming relies on the production of all-males due to males' higher growth rate, and as a way to avoid uncontrolled reproductions. Currently the large majority of the all-male productions are obtained through androgen treatments. We aim to use more sustainable procedures to produce all-males such as the use of YY males. Until now, the use of YY males has not been reliable. This is because sex determination in Nile tilapia is complex and controlled by several factors. Although sex determinism follows an XX/XY system, the linkage group (LG) carrying the major sex determinant gene has been assigned to either LG1 or LG23, depending on the domesticated strain. Minor parental factors can also be implicated and in addition, high temperatures can override the genetic determinism. It is not clear to what extent these differences in sex determination are due to natural diversity in the mechanisms of sex determination or due to processes of domestication. It is therefore necessary to better understand the genetic basis of sex determinism in order to use this approach to generate all-males. For this, we decided to work on wild populations in Africa that have not suffered domestic manipulations. We underwent a study of sex determination in several wild populations from West (Lake Volta, Lake Kou) and East Africa (Lake Koka and Lake Hora). We used complementary genomic approaches of ddRAD, whole genome sequencing and long Nanopore reads. We were able to determine that the amh region present on LG23 is the major sex-determining region in most of these populations. Nevertheless, our results also show that there is high polymorphism in this SD region. Furthermore, there are populations that lack the male-specific amh duplication on LG23. Hence, there are no universal Y markers for Nile tilapia. It is necessary to work at the population level to identify and validate sex markers, in order to allow the local production of YY males.

Sex-determining regions have been identified in the Nile tilapia on linkage groups (LG) 1, 20 and 23, depending on the domesticated strains used. Sex determining studies on wild populations of this species are scarce. Previous work on two wild populations, from Lake Volta (Ghana) and from Lake Koka (Ethiopia), found the sex-determining region on LG23. These populations have a Y-specific tandem duplication containing two copies of the Anti-Müllerian Hormone amh gene (named amhY and amhΔY). Here, we performed a whole-genome short-reads analysis using male and female pools on a third wild population from Lake Hora (Ethiopia). We found no association of sex with LG23, and no duplication of the amh gene. Furthermore, we found no evidence of sex linkage on LG1 or on any other LGs. Long read whole genome sequencing of a male from each population confirmed the absence of a duplicated region on LG23 in the Lake Hora male. In contrast, long reads established the structure of the Y haplotype in Koka and Kpandu males and the order of the genes in the duplicated region. Phylogenies constructed on the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, showed a closer relationship between the two Ethiopian populations compared to the Ghanaian population, implying an absence of the LG23Y sex-determination region in Lake Hora males. Our study supports the hypothesis that the amh region is not the sex-determining region in Hora males. The absence of the Y amh duplication in the Lake Hora population reflects a rapid change in sex determination within Nile tilapia populations. The genetic basis of sex determination in the Lake Hora population remains unknown.

Since its emergence in the 1980s, genomics has revolutionised many areas of the study of life. In particular, by providing vast data sets, it has enabled researchers to choose the molecular markers best suited to answer their biological question. During my thesis work, I studied the properties of two large groups of genes for comparative genomic analyses: orthologous genes (originating from a speciation event) and paralogous genes (sequences duplicated following a chromosomal event in a species). By constructing and analysing data sets at the rodent order scale, I have contributed to improving our knowledge of the relationships of rodents species related to mice, squirrels and chinchillas. In addition, I have applied myself to showing the impact of different molecular evolutionary characteristics of markers (e.g. evolutionary rates and nucleotide content) on phylogenetic reconstruction analyses. Finally, the study of the large family of olfactory receptor genes (about 1000 genes per species) has made it possible to demonstrate adaptations to the different lifestyles and diets found in these animals. In particular, burrowing species such as the different clades of mole rats (Bathyergidae and Spalacidae families) present a specific signature, found in a convergent manner in taxa that are phylogenetically distant.; Depuis son émergence dans les années 1980, la génomique a révolutionné de nombreux domaines de l'étude du vivant. En fournissant de vastes jeux de données, elle a notamment donné la possibilité aux chercheurs de choisir les marqueurs moléculaires les plus adaptés pour répondre à leur question biologique. Au cours de mes travaux de thèse, j’ai étudié les propriétés de deux grands groupes de gènes pour les analyses de génomique comparative : les gènes orthologues (descendant d’un évènement de spéciation) et les gènes paralogues (séquences dupliquées à la suite d’un évènement chromosomique chez une espèce). En construisant et analysant des jeux de données à l’échelle de l’ordre des rongeurs, j’ai contribué à améliorer notre connaissance des liens de parenté entre les différents groupes d’espèces apparentées aux souris, aux écureuils et aux chinchillas. De plus, je me suis appliqué à montrer l’impact des différentes caractéristiques d’évolution moléculaire des marqueurs (vitesses d’évolution et contenu en nucléotides par exemple) sur les analyses de reconstruction phylogénétique. Enfin, l’étude de la grande famille de gènes des récepteurs olfactifs (environ 1000 gènes par espèce) a permis de démontrer des adaptations aux différents styles de vie et régimes alimentaires trouvés chez ces animaux. En particulier, les espèces fouisseuses comme les différents clades de rats- taupes appartenant aux familles Bathyeridae et Spalacidae présentent une signature spécifique, retrouvée de manière convergente chez des taxons pourtant éloignés phylogénétiquement.