Life Sciences Commons^™

Evolutionary Genomics And Adaptive Evolution Of The Hedgehog Gene Family (Shh, Ihh And Dhh) In Vertebrates, Joana Pereira, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Erich D. Jarvis, Guojie Zhang, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Vitor Vasconcelos, Agostinho Antunes

Biology Faculty Articles

The Hedgehog (Hh) gene family codes for a class of secreted proteins composed of two active domains that act as signalling molecules during embryo development, namely for the development of the nervous and skeletal systems and the formation of the testis cord. While only one Hh gene is found typically in invertebrate genomes, most vertebrates species have three (Sonic hedgehog – Shh; Indian hedgehog – Ihh; and Desert hedgehog – Dhh), each with different expression patterns and functions, which likely helped promote the increasing complexity of vertebrates and their successful diversification. In this study, we …

Landscape Of Transposable Elements In Mycosphaerella Graminicola, Braham Dhillon, Navdeep Gill, Richard Hamelin, Stephen Goodwin

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: In addition to gene identification and annotation, repetitive sequence analysis has become an integral part of genome sequencing projects. Identification of repeats is important not only because it improves gene prediction, but also because of the role that repetitive sequences play in determining the structure and evolution of genes and genomes. Several methods using different repeat-finding strategies are available for whole-genome repeat sequence analysis. Four independent approaches were used to identify and characterize the repetitive fraction of the Mycosphaerella graminicola (synonym Zymoseptoria tritici) genome. This ascomycete fungus is a wheat pathogen and its finished genome comprises 21 chromosomes, eight …

Comparative Population Genetics And Evolutionary History Of Two Commonly Misidentified Billfishes Of Management And Conservation Concern, Andrea M. Bernard, Mahmood S. Shivji, Eric Prince, Fabio H.V. Hazin, Freddy Arocha, Andres Domingo, Kevin A. Feldheim

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: Misidentifications between exploited species may lead to inaccuracies in population assessments, with potentially irreversible conservation ramifications if overexploitation of either species is occurring. A notable showcase is provided by the realization that the roundscale spearfish (Tetrapturus georgii), a recently validated species, has been historically misidentified as the morphologically very similar and severely overfished white marlin (Kajikia albida) (IUCN listing: Vulnerable). In effect, no information exists on the population status and evolutionary history of the enigmatic roundscale spearfish, a large, highly vagile and broadly distributed pelagic species. We provide the first population genetic evaluation of the …

The Birds Of Genome10k, Stephen J. O'Brien, David Haussler, Oliver A. Ryder

Biology Faculty Articles

Everyone loves the birds of the world. From their haunting songs and majesty of flight to dazzling plumage and mating rituals, bird watchers – both amateurs and professionals - have marveled for centuries at their considerable adaptations. Now, we are offered a special treat with the publication of a series of papers in dedicated issues of Science, Genome Biology and GigaScience (which also included pre-publication data release). These present the successful beginnings of an international interdisciplinary venture, the Avian Phylogenomics Project that lets us view, through a genomics lens, modern bird species and the evolutionary events that produced them.

Book Review - Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship And Mating Tell Us About Human Relationships, J. Matthew Hoch

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Comment On “Chemically Mediated Behavior Of Recruiting Corals And Fishes: A Tipping Point That May Limit Reef Recovery”, Andrew H. Baird, Vivian R. Cumbo, Joana Figueiredo, Saki Harii, Tom Hata, Joshua S. Madin

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Dixson et al. (2014) report that coral larvae navigate towards chemical cues associated with healthy reefs and avoid cues from degraded reefs. However, the swimming capabilities of coral larvae and well-established patterns of recruitment and reef hydrodynamics indicate that coral larvae will not be able to use these cues to recruit to healthy reefs. Perfuming degraded reefs, as suggested by Dixson et al (2014), will not enhance recovery rather it will distract from the difficult task of reducing fishing effort and improving water quality.

Temperature-Induced Viral Resistance In Emiliania Huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae), B. Jacob Kendrick, Giacomo R. Ditullio, Tyler Cyronak, James M. Fulton, Benjamin A. S. Van Mooy, Kay D. Bidle

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Annual Emiliania huxleyi blooms (along with other coccolithophorid species) play important roles in the global carbon and sulfur cycles. E. huxleyi blooms are routinely terminated by large, host-specific dsDNA viruses, (Emiliania huxleyi Viruses; EhVs), making these host-virus interactions a driving force behind their potential impact on global biogeochemical cycles. Given projected increases in sea surface temperature due to climate change, it is imperative to understand the effects of temperature on E. huxleyi’s susceptibility to viral infection and its production of climatically active dimethylated sulfur species (DSS). Here we demonstrate that a 3°C increase in temperature induces EhV-resistant phenotypes …

Marginal Coral Populations: The Densest Known Aggregation Of Pocillopora In The Galápagos Archipelago Is Of Asexual Origin, Iliana B. Baums, Meghann Devlin-Durante, Beatrice A. A. Laing, Joshua S. Feingold, Tyler B. Smith, Andrew Bruckner, Joao Monteiro

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coral populations at distributional margins frequently experience suboptimal and variable conditions. Recurrent El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warming events have caused extensive mortality of reef-building corals in the Eastern Pacific, and particularly impacted branching pocilloporid corals in the Galápagos Islands. Pocillopora spp. were previously more common and formed incipient reefs at several locations in the archipelago but now occur as scattered colonies. Here, we report an unusually concentrated aggregation of colonies and evaluate their current genetic diversity. In particular we focus on a large population of 1614 live Pocillopora colonies found in a volcanic lagoon along the southern shore of Isabela …

Gwatch: A Web Platform For Automated Gene Association Discovery Analysis, Anton Svitin, Sergey Malov, Nikolay Cherkasov, Paul Geerts, Mikhail Rotkevich, Pavel Dobrynin, Andrey Shevchenko, Li Guan, Jennifer L. Troyer, Sher L. Hendrickson, Holli Hutcheson Dilks, T. K. Oleksyk, Sharyne Donfield, Edward Gomperts, Douglas A. Jabs, Efe Sezgin, Mark Van Natta, P. Richard Harrigan, Zabrina L. Brumme, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: As genome-wide sequence analyses for complex human disease determinants are expanding, it is increasingly necessary to develop strategies to promote discovery and validation of potential disease-gene associations.

Findings: Here we present a dynamic web-based platform – GWATCH – that automates and facilitates four steps in genetic epidemiological discovery: 1) Rapid gene association search and discovery analysis of large genome-wide datasets; 2) Expanded visual display of gene associations for genome-wide variants (SNPs, indels, CNVs), including Manhattan plots, 2D and 3D snapshots of any gene region, and a dynamic genome browser illustrating gene association chromosomal regions; 3) Real-time validation/replication …

Two Distinct Microbial Communities Revealed In The Sponge Cinachyrella, Marie L. Cuvelier, Emily Blake, Rebecca Mulheron, Peter J. Mccarthy, Patricia Blackwelder, Rebecca Vega-Thurber, Jose V. Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Marine sponges are vital components of benthic and coral reef ecosystems, providing shelter and nutrition for many organisms. In addition, sponges act as an essential carbon and nutrient link between the pelagic and benthic environment by filtering large quantities of seawater. Many sponge species harbor a diverse microbial community (including Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes), which can constitute up to 50% of the sponge biomass. Sponges of the genus Cinachyrella are common in Caribbean and Floridian reefs and their archaeal and bacterial microbiomes were explored here using 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing. Cinachyrella specimens and seawater samples were collected from the …

Measuring The Socio-Economic Characteristics Of A Lionfish Derby Event, Adam Nardelli, Stephanie Green, L. Akins, David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

No abstract provided.

Mammalian Keratin Associated Proteins (Krtaps) Subgenomes: Disentangling Hair Diversity And Adaptation To Terrestrial And Aquatic Environments, Imran Khan, Emanuel Maldonado, Vitor Vasconcelos, Stephen J. O'Brien, Warren E. Johnson, Agostinho Antunes

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: Adaptation of mammals to terrestrial life was facilitated by the unique vertebrate trait of body hair, which occurs in a range of morphological patterns. Keratin associated proteins (KRTAPs), the major structural hair shaft proteins, are largely responsible for hair variation.

Results: We exhaustively characterized the KRTAP gene family in 22 mammalian genomes, confirming the existence of 30 KRTAP subfamilies evolving at different rates with varying degrees of diversification and homogenization. Within the two major classes of KRTAPs, the high cysteine (HS) subfamily experienced strong concerted evolution, high rates of gene conversion/recombination and high GC content. In contrast, high glycine-tyrosine …

Endogenous Retrovirus Insertion In The Kit Oncogene Determines White And White Spotting In Domestic Cats, Victor A. David, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Andrea Coots Wallace, Melody E. Roelke, James Kehler, Robert Leighty, Eduardo Eizirik, Steven S. Hannah, George Nelson, Alejandro A. Schaffer, Catherine J. Connelly, Stephen J. O'Brien, David K. Ryugo

Biology Faculty Articles

The Dominant White locus (W) in the domestic cat demonstrates pleiotropic effects exhibiting complete penetrance for absence of coat pigmentation and incomplete penetrance for deafness and iris hypopigmentation. We performed linkage analysis using a pedigree segregating White to identify KIT (Chr. B1) as the feline W locus. Segregation and sequence analysis of the KIT gene in two pedigrees (P1 and P2) revealed the remarkable retrotransposition and evolution of a feline endogenous retrovirus (FERV1) as responsible for two distinct phenotypes of the W locus, Dominant White, and white spotting. A full-length (7125 bp) FERV1 element is associated with white …

Possible Recovery Of Acropora Palmata (Scleractinia:Acroporidae) Within The Veracruz Reef System, Gulf Of Mexico: A Survey Of 24 Reefs To Assess The Benthic Communities, Elizabeth Anne Larson, David S. Gilliam, Mauricio Lopez Padierna, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent evidence shows that Acropora palmata within the Veracruz Reef System, located in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, may be recovering after the die off from the flooding of the Jamapa River and a dramatic cold water event in the 1970s. Since this decline, few surveys have documented the status of A. palmata. The 28 named reefs in the system are divided into 13 northern and 15 southern groups by the River. Between 2007 and 2013, we surveyed 24 reefs to assess the benthic communities. Seven of the 11 reefs surveyed in the northern group and all in the …

Enhanced Acidification Of Global Coral Reefs Driven By Regional Biogeochemical Feedbacks, Tyler Cyronak, Kai G. Schulz, Isaac R. Santos, Bradley D. Eyre

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Physical uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ is the dominant driver of ocean acidification (OA) in the open ocean. Due to expected decreases in calcification and increased dissolution of CaCO₃ framework, coral reefs are thought to be highly susceptible to OA. However, biogeochemical processes can influence the pCO₂ and pH of coastal ecosystems on diel and seasonal time scales, potentially modifying the long‐term effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂. By compiling data from the literature and removing the effects of short‐term variability, we show that the average pCO₂ of coral reefs throughout the globe has increased ~3.5‐fold …

Phenotypic Signatures Arising From Unbalanced Bacterial Growth, Cheemang Tan, Robert P. Smith, Ming-Chi Tsai, Russell Schwartz, Lingchong You

Biology Faculty Articles

Fluctuations in the growth rate of a bacterial culture during unbalanced growth are generally considered undesirable in quantitative studies of bacterial physiology. Under well-controlled experimental conditions, however, these fluctuations are not random but instead reflect the interplay between intra-cellular networks underlying bacterial growth and the growth environment. Therefore, these fluctuations could be considered quantitative phenotypes of the bacteria under a specific growth condition. Here, we present a method to identify “phenotypic signatures” by time-frequency analysis of unbalanced growth curves measured with high temporal resolution. The signatures are then applied to differentiate amongst different bacterial strains or the same strain under …

Seagrasses In The Age Of Sea Turtle Conservation And Shark Overfishing, Michael Heithaus, Teresa Alcoverro, Rohan Arthur, Derek A. Burkholder, Kathryn A. Coates, Marjolijn J. A. Christianen, Nachiket Kelkar, Sarah A. Manuel, Aaron Wirsing, W. Judson Kenworthy, James W. Fourqurean

HCAS Student Articles

Efforts to conserve globally declining herbivorous green sea turtles have resulted in promising growth of some populations. These trends could significantly impact critical ecosystem services provided by seagrass meadows on which turtles feed. Expanding turtle populations could improve seagrass ecosystem health by removing seagrass biomass and preventing of the formation of sediment anoxia. However, overfishing of large sharks, the primary green turtle predators, could facilitate turtle populations growing beyond historical sizes and trigger detrimental ecosystem impacts mirroring those on land when top predators were extirpated. Experimental data from multiple ocean basins suggest that increasing turtle populations can negatively impact seagrasses, …

Annotated Features Of Domestic Cat – Felis Catus Genome, Gaik Tamazian, Serguei Simonov, Pavel Dobrynin, Alexey Makunin, Anton Logachev, Aleksey Komissarov, Andrey Shevchenko, Vladimir Brukhin, Nikolay Cherkasov, Anton Svitin, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Joan Pontius, Carlos A. Driscoll, Kevin Blackistone, Cristina Barr, David Goldman, Agostinho Antunes, Javier Quilez, Belen Lorente-Galdos, Can Alkan, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Victor A. David, Kristina Narfstrom, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: Domestic cats enjoy an extensive veterinary medical surveillance which has described nearly 250 genetic diseases analogous to human disorders. Feline infectious agents offer powerful natural models of deadly human diseases, which include feline immunodeficiency virus, feline sarcoma virus and feline leukemia virus. A rich veterinary literature of feline disease pathogenesis and the demonstration of a highly conserved ancestral mammal genome organization make the cat genome annotation a highly informative resource that facilitates multifaceted research endeavors.

Findings: Here we report a preliminary annotation of the whole genome sequence of Cinnamon, a domestic cat living in Columbia (MO, USA), …

Environmental Variability And Biodiversity Of Megabenthos On The Hebrides Terrace Seamount (Northeast Atlantic), Lea-Anne Henry, Johanne Vad, Helen S. Findlay, Javier Murillo, Rosanna Milligan, J. Murray Roberts

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

We present the first remotely operated vehicle investigation of megabenthic communities (1004–1695 m water depth) on the Hebrides Terrace Seamount (Northeast Atlantic). Conductivity-temperature-depth casts showed rapid light attenuation below the summit and an oceanographic regime on the flanks consistent with an internal tide, and high short-term variability in water temperature, salinity, light attenuation, aragonite and oxygen down to 1500 m deep. Minor changes in species composition (3–14%) were explained by changes in depth, substratum and oceanographic stability, whereas environmental variability explained substantially more variation in species richness (40–56%). Two peaks in species richness occurred, the first at 1300–1400 m where …

Southeast Florida Shallow-Water Habitat Mapping & Coral Reef Community Characterization, Brian K. Walker, Katelyn Klug

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Baseline mapping and quantitative assessment data are required prior to future permitted or un-permitted impacts in order to determine the pre-existing state of the benthic resources; therefore, it is imperative that these data be collected on the ecologically sensitive and economically valuable shallow-water coral reef habitats in southeast Florida. In southeast Florida, the nearshore reef habitats are most vulnerable to coastal construction activities and other anthropogenic impacts, therefore these habitats were the focus for this study. The study goals were to provide a spatially appropriate map of increased resolution and a regional quantitative characterization of nearshore benthic resources to evaluate …

Coral Reef Conservation Program (Crcp) Local Action Strategy (Las) Project 3b “Southeast Florida Coral Reef Fishery-Independent Baseline Assessment” – 2012-2013 Interim Report, Kirk Kilfoyle, Brian K. Walker, Steven G. Smith, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Reef fishes are important biologic, ecologic, and economic resources of the marine ecosystem which must be managed for sustainability. Until recently there was no long-term monitoring program in place to assess the condition of fish resources of the northern Florida Reef Tract (FRT) (northern Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties). An assessment/monitoring plan for the northern Florida reef tract was designed through a joint cooperative effort by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA-Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center (NSUOC). This report is a synoptic compilation of the …

The Dynamic Proliferation Of Cansines Mirrors The Complex Evolution Of Feliforms, Kathryn B. Walters-Conte, Diana L. E. Johnson, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jill Pecon-Slattery

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: Repetitive short interspersed elements (SINEs) are retrotransposons ubiquitous in mammalian genomes and are highly informative markers to identify species and phylogenetic associations. Of these, SINEs unique to the order Carnivora (CanSINEs) yield novel insights on genome evolution in domestic dogs and cats, but less is known about their role in related carnivores. In particular, genome-wide assessment of CanSINE evolution has yet to be completed across the Feliformia (cat-like) suborder of Carnivora. Within Feliformia, the cat family Felidae is composed of 37 species and numerous subspecies organized into eight monophyletic lineages that likely arose 10 million years ago. Using …

Genetic Variations Affecting Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen Levels And Status Of Regional Lymph Nodes In Patients With Sporadic Colorectal Cancer From Southern China, Yu Liang, Weizhong Tang, Tiquiang Huang, Yong Gao, Aihua Tan, Xiaobo Yang, Haiying Zhang, Yanling Hu, Xue Qin, Shan Li, Shijun Zhang, Linjian Mo, Zhenjia Liang, Deyi Shi, Zhang Huang, Yingyong Guan, Jicheng Zhou, Cheryl Winkler, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jianfeng Xu, Zengnan Mo, Tao Peng

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (sCEA) level might be an indicator of disease. Indeed, an elevated sCEA level is a prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. However, the genetic determinants of sCEA level in healthy and CRC population remains unclear. Thus we investigated the genetic markers associated with elevated serum sCEA level in these two populations and its clinical implications.

Methods and Findings: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted in a cohort study with 4,346 healthy male adults using the Illumina Omni 1 M chip. Candidate SNPs associated with elevated sCEA levels were validated in 194 CRC patients on ABI …

The Air-Sea Interface And Surface Stress Under Tropical Cyclones, Alexander Soloviev, Roger Lukas, Mark A. Donelan, Brian K. Haus, Isaac Ginis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Tropical cyclone track prediction is steadily improving, while storm intensity prediction has seen little progress in the last quarter century. Important physics are not yet well understood and implemented in tropical cyclone forecast models. Missing and unresolved physics, especially at the air-sea interface, are among the factors limiting storm predictions. In a laboratory experiment and coordinated numerical simulation, conducted in this work, the microstructure of the air-water interface under hurricane force wind resembled Kelvin-Helmholtz shear instability between fluids with a large density difference. Supported by these observations, we bring forth the concept that the resulting two-phase environment suppresses short gravity-capillary …

Fine-Scale Features On The Sea Surface In Sar Satellite Imagery - Part 2: Numerical Modeling, Silvia Matt, A. Fujimura, Alexander Soloviev, S. H. Rhee, R. Romeiser

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

With the advent of the new generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, it has become possible to resolve fine-scale features on the sea surface on the scale of meters. The proper identification of sea surface signatures in SAR imagery can be challenging, since some features may be due to atmospheric distortions (gravity waves, squall lines) or anthropogenic influences (slicks), and may not be related to dynamic processes in the upper ocean. In order to improve our understanding of the nature of fine-scale features on the sea surface and their signature in SAR, we have conducted high-resolution numerical simulations combining …

Book Review - Abominable Science!: Origins Of The Yeti, Nessie, And Other Famous Cryptids, J. Matthew Hoch

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

A Thermal Window For Yawning In Humans: Yawning As A Brain Cooling Mechanism, Jorg J. M. Massen, Kim Dusch, Omar T. Eldakar, Andrew C. Gallup

Biology Faculty Articles

The thermoregulatory theory of yawning posits that yawns function to cool the brain in part due to counter-current heat exchange with the deep inhalation of ambient air. Consequently, yawning should be constrained to an optimal thermal zone or range of temperature, i.e., a thermal window, in which we should expect a lower frequency at extreme temperatures. Previous research shows that yawn frequency diminishes as ambient temperatures rise and approach body temperature, but a lower bound to the thermal window has not been demonstrated. To test this, a total of 120 pedestrians were sampled for susceptibly to self-reported yawn contagion during …

Progress Of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy For Neural And Retinal Diseases, Tsz Kin Ng, Veronica R. Fortino, Daniel Pelaez, Herman S. Cheung

Biology Faculty Articles

Complex circuitry and limited regenerative power make central nervous system (CNS) disorders the most challenging and difficult for functional repair. With elusive disease mechanisms, traditional surgical and medical interventions merely slow down the progression of the neurodegenerative diseases. However, the number of neurons still diminishes in many patients. Recently, stem cell therapy has been proposed as a viable option. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a widely-studied human adult stem cell population, have been discovered for more than 20 years. MSCs have been found all over the body and can be conveniently obtained from different accessible tissues: bone marrow, blood, and adipose …

Genome-Wide Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Variation (Gmtv) Database: A New Tool For Integrating Sequence Variations And Epidemiology, Ekaterina N. Chernyaeva, Marina V. Shulgina, Mikhail Rotkevich, Pavel Dobrynin, Serguei Simonov, Egor A. Shitikov, Dmitry S. Ischenko, Irina Y. Karpova, Elena S. Kostryukova, Elena N. Ilina, Vadim M. Govorun, Vyacheslav Y. Zhuravlev, Olga A. Manicheva, Peter K. Yablonsky, Yulia D. Isaeva, Elena Y. Nosova, Igor V. Mokrousov, Anna A. Vyazovaya, Olga V. Narvskaya, Alla L. Lapidus, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) poses a worldwide threat due to advancing multidrug-resistant strains and deadly co-infections with Human immunodeficiency virus. Today large amounts of Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole genome sequencing data are being assessed broadly and yet there exists no comprehensive online resource that connects M. tuberculosis genome variants with geographic origin, with drug resistance or with clinical outcome.

Description

Here we describe a broadly inclusive unifying Genome-wide Mycobacterium tuberculosis Variation (GMTV) database, (http://mtb.dobzhanskycenter.org) that catalogues genome variations of M. tuberculosis strains collected across Russia. GMTV contains a broad spectrum of data derived from different sources and related to M. …

Sequence-Based Analysis Of Structural Organization And Composition Of The Cultivated Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) Genome, Navdeep Gill, Matteo Buti, Nolan Kane, Arnaud Bellec, Nicolas Helmstetter, Hélène Berges, Loren Rieseberg

Biology Faculty Articles

Sunflower is an important oilseed crop, as well as a model system for evolutionary studies, but its 3.6 gigabase genome has proven difficult to assemble, in part because of the high repeat content of its genome. Here we report on the sequencing, assembly, and analyses of 96 randomly chosen BACs from sunflower to provide additional information on the repeat content of the sunflower genome, assess how repetitive elements in the sunflower genome are organized relative to genes, and compare the genomic distribution of these repeats to that found in other food crops and model species. We also examine the expression …