Helianthus Transcriptome or Gene expression
Study goals and relevance: We sequenced the above-ground seedling transcriptome of one individual from each of three families from two populations of a newly described perennial woody sunflower, Helianthus winterii. As a comparison, we also sequenced transcriptomes of one individual from each of two families from three nearby California populations of the non-woody annual ancestor, H. annuus. We used these data to examine population structure, sequence divergence, and divergence in gene expression between the two species. Our analysis has implications for the evolution of secondary woodiness and perenniality.