Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …

Characterization Of The Heart Transcriptome Of The White Shark (Carcharodon Carcharias), Vincent P. Richards, Haruo Suzuki, Michael J. Stanhope, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a globally distributed, apex predator possessing physical, physiological, and behavioral traits that have garnered it significant public attention. In addition to interest in the genetic basis of its form and function, as a representative of the oldest extant jawed vertebrate lineage, white sharks are also of conservation concern due to their small population size and threat from overfishing. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the biology of white sharks, and genomic resources are unavailable. To address this deficit, we combined Roche-454 and Illumina sequencing technologies to characterize the first …