Crossover Interference: Shedding Light on the Evolution of Recombination

Through recombination, genes are freed to evolve more independently of one another, unleashing genetic variance hidden in the linkage disequilibrium that accumulates through selection combined with drift. Yet crossover numbers are evolutionarily constrained, with at least one and not many more than...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnual review of genetics Vol. 53; p. 19
Main Authors Otto, Sarah P, Payseur, Bret A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 03.12.2019
Subjects
Animals
Crossing Over, Genetic
DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded
Drosophila - genetics
Female
Humans
Male
Mice
Models, Genetic
Models, Statistical
Recombination, Genetic
Selection, Genetic
Species Specificity
Telomere - genetics
crossovers
recombination
evolution
interference
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Summary:Through recombination, genes are freed to evolve more independently of one another, unleashing genetic variance hidden in the linkage disequilibrium that accumulates through selection combined with drift. Yet crossover numbers are evolutionarily constrained, with at least one and not many more than one crossover per bivalent in most taxa. Crossover interference, whereby a crossover reduces the probability of a neighboring crossover, contributes to this homogeneity. The mechanisms by which interference is achieved and crossovers are regulated are a major current subject of inquiry, facilitated by novel methods to visualize crossovers and to pinpoint recombination events. Here, we review patterns of crossover interference and the models built to describe this process. We then discuss the selective forces that have likely shaped interference and the regulation of crossover numbers.
ISSN:1545-2948
DOI:10.1146/annurev-genet-040119-093957