LIZ COOPER

We studied genomic variation at the tips of the Darwin's finch radiation; specifically focusing on polymorphism within, and variation among, three sympatric species of the genus Geospiza. Our results suggest that (i) key adaptive traits are associated with a small fraction of the genome, (ii) SNPs linked to the candidate genes are dispersed throughout the genome, and (iii) micro- and macro-evolutionary variation involve some shared and some unique genomic regions... To provide a pivotal resource aimed at developing a comparative understanding of key bioenergy traits in grasses, we have established and characterized an association panel of diverse Sorghum bicolor accessions.