Helianthus Targeted Locus (Loci). Helianthus

All genes that exhibited a paucity of sequence diversity, consistent with the possible effects of selection during the evolution of cultivated sunflower, were then sequenced from a panel of wild sunflower accessions an outgroup. These data enabled formal tests for the effects of selection in shaping sequence diversity at these loci. When selection was detected, we further sequenced these genes from a panel of primitive landraces, thereby allowing us to investigate the likely timing of selection (i.e., domestication vs. improvement). Samples of wild, primitive, and improved varieties of Helianthus annuus were investigated in this study and compared to one of two outgroup/related taxa: H. petiolaris or H. argophyllus.