Probing Meiotic Recombination and Aneuploidy of Single Sperm Cells by Whole-Genome Sequencing

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 338; no. 6114; pp. 1627 - 1630
• Main Authors: Lu, Sijia, Zong, Chenghang, Fan, Wei, Yang, Mingyu, Li, Jinsen, Chapman, Alec R., Zhu, Ping, Hu, Xuesong, Xu, Liya, Yan, Liying, Bai, Fan, Qiao, Jie, Tang, Fuchou, Li, Ruiqiang, Xie, X. Sunney
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 21.12.2012; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Amplification; Aneuploidy; Annealing; Asian people; Biological and medical sciences; Cell cycle, cell proliferation; Cell division; Cell physiology; Cell separation; Chromosome Segregation; Chromosomes; Chromosomes, Human - genetics; Crossing Over, Genetic; Crossovers; Diploidy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene sequencing; Genetic recombination; Genic rearrangement. Recombination. Transposable element; Genome, Human; Genomes; Genomics; Haplotypes; Heterogeneity; Heterozygote; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Human; Human genetics; Humans; Male; Meiosis; Middle Aged; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Mutations; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Recombination, Genetic; Sequence Analysis, DNA - methods; Sequencing; Single-Cell Analysis; Sperm; Spermatozoa; Spermatozoa - physiology; Transcription Initiation Site; Chromosomal aberration; Human; Recombination; Semen; Isolated cell; Cytogenetics; Aneuploidy; Meiosis; Genome; Sequencing
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1229112

Meiotic recombination creates genetic diversity and ensures segregation of homologous chromosomes. Previous population analyses yielded results averaged among individuals and affected by evolutionary pressures. We sequenced 99 sperm from an Asian male by using the newly developed amplification method—multiple annealing and looping-based amplification cycles—to phase the personal genome and map recombination events at high resolution, which are nonuniformly distributed across the genome in the absence of selection pressure. The paucity of recombination near transcription start sites observed in individual sperm indicates that such a phenomenon is intrinsic to the molecular mechanism of meiosis. Interestingly, a decreased crossover frequency combined with an increase of autosomal aneuploidy is observable on a global per-sperm basis.