Meeting Abstract

S1-1.7  Thursday, Jan. 3  Genome Architecture and Diversity in Reptiles ORGAN, Chris*; EDWARDS, Scott; Harvard University corgan@oeb.harvard.edu

Characterization of reptile (sauropsid) genomes is essential for understanding the overall diversity and evolution of amniote genomes because they constitute a major fraction of the amniote evolutionary tree. In addition, the study of reptile genomics provides the evolutionary context from which mammalian and avian genomes have evolved. With the Anolis draft genome completed there has been some progress made in elucidating the genomic landscape of non-avian reptiles, but data from more species are required to produce comparative and evolutionary insights within Sauropsida. In a consilience approach towards better understanding the evolution and diversity of genome characteristics within reptiles, we combined genome data for multiple species obtained from online databases with Alligator BAC genome library sequences. Genome features such as average exon and intron length were derived from these data and combined with genome size data for living and extinct species to give our clearest picture yet on the tempo and mode of reptile genome evolution.