Characterization of the LTR retrotransposon repertoire of a plant clade of six diploid and one tetraploid species.

Comparisons of closely related species are needed to understand the fine-scale dynamics of retrotransposon evolution in flowering plants. Towards this goal, we classified the long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons from six diploid and one tetraploid species of Orobanchaceae. The study species are the autotrophic, non-parasitic Lindenbergia philippensis (as an out-group) and six closely related holoparasitic species of Orobanche [O.

Why are there so few fish in the sea?

The most dramatic gradient in global biodiversity is between marine and terrestrial environments. Terrestrial environments contain approximately 75-85% of all estimated species, but occupy only 30 per cent of the Earth's surface (and only approx. 1-10% by volume), whereas marine environments occupy a larger area and volume, but have a smaller fraction of Earth's estimated diversity.