The Presence of Transposable Elements in Actinopterygii, The Ray Finned Fish

Purpose: My project developed after I was introduced to the idea of horizontal gene transfer in various species. I wanted to further understand one of the largest known mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer, SINE and LINE elements. This project is centered around the analysis of Transposable Elements in various Actinopterygii populations. Transposable Elements are extremely common in The Ray Finned Fish, however analysis of their frequency and position has yet to be done in a majority of the class. I plan to identify their presence in three groups of Ray Finned Fish – Atlantic Killifish, African Cichlids, and Guppies – to analyze their impact on the evolution of each species