Transposable elements and genome size dynamics in Gossypium

vi CHAPTER ONE. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Description of Research Objectives 1 Dissertation Organization 2 Literature Cited 3 CHAPTER TWO. AN INTRODUCTION TO EUKARYOTIC GENOME SIZE VARIATION 4 Introduction 4 Mechanisms of Genome Size Change 5 Transposable Elements and Genome Size Variation 8 Gossypium as a Model System for the Study of Genome Size Evolution 12 Literature Cited 13 CHAPTER THREE. DIFFERENTIAL LINEAGE-SPECIFIC AMPLIFICATION OF TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GENOME SIZE VARIATION IN GOSSYPIUM 25 Abstract 25 Introduction 26 Methods 29 Results 34 Discussion 38 Concluding Remarks 42 Acknowledgments 43 Literature Cited 43 CHAPTER FOUR. RAPID DNA LOSS AS A COUNTERBALANCE TO RETROTRANSPOSON PROLIFERATION IN PLANT GENOME SIZE EVOLUTION 61 Abstract 6