Henrique G. Leitão

Henrique G. Leitão

Evolutionary genomics research on trait variation.

I’m an evolutionary genomics researcher interested in how genomic variation relates to biological traits. During my PhD, I studied osteoderm variation—bony plates that form within the skin—in the Cape cliff lizard (Hemicordylus capensis), and built chromosome-level reference genomes for this and other species.

Alongside my PhD, I worked with the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), a European collaboration to build reference genomes for biodiversity. I led its Antwerp sequencing hub, carrying out Omni-C and Illumina library preparation and sequencing QC while coordinating work across 17 genome projects.

I’m also interested in sex chromosomes and how they evolve. More broadly, I enjoy using genomic data to study evolutionary questions in non-model species.

Selected figures

Click a figure to open its article.

Representative image of Hemicordylus capensis and a Hi-C contact map of its chromosome-level genome assembly. Genome assembly · Figure 1 The Cape cliff lizard and the Hi-C contact map of its chromosome-level assembly.
Leitão et al. (2023), Genome Biology and Evolution. CC BY 4.0.
Four panels showing sex-specific genome-wide coverage, chromosome 12 alignments, coverage density, and heterozygosity. Genome assembly · Figure 2 Sex-specific genome coverage and chromosome 12 patterns.
Leitão et al. (2023), Genome Biology and Evolution. CC BY 4.0.
Four panels showing genetic structure, sampling localities, a whole-genome phylogeny, and landscape connectivity across the Cape Fold Mountains. Phylogenomics · Figure 1 Genetic structure, phylogenetic relationships, sampling localities, and landscape connectivity.
Leitão et al. (2026), Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Figure from the accepted manuscript.

Publications

See the full publication list, Google Scholar profile, or download my full academic CV.