Helianthus annuus Genome sequencing

This project has involved the whole-genome shotgun re-sequencing of a sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) diversity panel to determine patterns of genomic variation. This population, originally described by Mandel et al. (2013; PLoS Genetics 9:3 e1003378), captures ca. 90% of the allelic diversity present in the cultivated sunflower gene pool and has been used in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of a variety of phenotypic traits. DNA was extracted from a bulked tissue sample of four individuals per genotype and individually indexed libraries were constructed using Illumina TruSeq LT Sample Prep Kits. Paired-end (2 x 100 bp) sequences were then produced on an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing platform. The resulting data provide a rich resource for the identification of single-nucleotide polymorphisms for use in evolutionary and GWAS analyses.