Clinal Variation in Short Tandem Repeats Linked to Gene Expression in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

ABSTRACT: Short tandem repeat (STR) variation is rarely explored as a contributor to adaptive evolution. An intriguing mechanism involving STRs suggests that STRs function as "tuning knobs" of adaptation whereby stepwise changes in STR allele length have stepwise effects on phenotypes. Previously, we tested the predictions of the "tuning knob" model at the gene expression level by conducting an RNA-Seq experiment on natural populations of common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) transecting a well-defined cline from Kansas to Oklahoma. We identified 479 STRs with significant allele length effects on gene expression (eSTRs). In this study, we expanded the range to populations further north and south of the focal populations and used a targeted approach to study the relationship between STR alle

SUBMITTER: Ranathunge C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11352406 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature