Professor Raquel Chaves from UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal, is interested in the evolution and function of repetitive DNA in animals, ranging from molluscs though cats and dogs to bovids (cows, sheep, goats and their relatives). We have collaborated over many years and published a number of papers about cattle, sheep and their relatives (alt link Pubmed). As in many species, tandemly repeated DNA is rapidly evolving. In joint work, we have shown the history of its evolution on autosomal and sex chromosomes across the Bovid tribe, allowing the separation of major branches to be defined. Current collaborative work is looking at the transcription and modulation of repetitive DNA in bovids, as well as extending our analysis of the sequences in BACs and whole genomes.

Raquel has an interview about her cell culture and other work (in Portuguese):