Crossover interference on nucleolus organizing region-bearing chromosomes in Arabidopsis

In most eukaryotes, crossovers are not independently distributed along the length of a chromosome. Instead, they appear to avoid close proximity to one another--a phenomenon known as crossover interference. Previously, for three of the five Arabidopsis chromosomes, we measured the strength of interference and suggested a model wherein some crossovers experience interference while others do not. Here we show, using the same model, that the fraction of interference-insensitive crossovers is significantly smaller on the remaining two chromosomes. Since these two chromosomes bear the Arabidopsis NOR domains, the possibility that these chromosomal regions influence interference is discussed.