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Evolution of the Yeast Recombination Landscape
Haoxuan Liu1,2, Calum J Maclean1,2, Jianzhi Zhang1
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|December 12, 2018
Summary
Recombination hotspots are evolutionarily conserved in yeast, differing from double-strand break patterns. Crossover landscapes show higher conservation due to subtelomeric preferences and interference.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Meiotic recombination shuffles genetic variation, influencing adaptation and polymorphism.
- Recombination rates vary genomically, with hotspots and coldspots.
- The hotspot paradox hypothesis suggests hotspots are evolutionarily unstable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary conservation of the crossover landscape in yeast.
- To compare the crossover landscape with the double-strand break (DSB) landscape.
- To understand factors contributing to crossover landscape conservation.
Main Methods:
- Generated a high-resolution recombination map of Saccharomyces paradoxus using whole-genome sequencing of 50 meiotic tetrads.
- Compared the S. paradoxus recombination map with that of S. cerevisiae.
- Analyzed crossover patterns in relation to DSB distribution and crossover interference.
Main Results:
- Observed a 40% lower recombination rate in S. paradoxus compared to S. cerevisiae.
- Found the crossover landscape to be more conserved than the DSB landscape between the two yeast species.
- Identified a conserved near-subtelomeric crossover preference in both yeasts, partly due to crossover interference.
Conclusions:
- The yeast crossover landscape is highly conserved across divergent species.
- The evolutionary conservation of the crossover landscape can differ from that of the DSB landscape.
- Near-subtelomeric crossover preference and interference contribute to landscape conservation.
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