The organization of genetic variation for recombination in Drosophila melanogaster

The amount and form of natural genetic variation for recombination were studied in six lines for which second chromosomes were extracted from a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster. Multiply marked second, X and third chromosomes were used to score recombination. Recombination in the second chromosomes varied in both amount and distribution. These second chromosomes caused variation in the amount and distribution of crossing over in the X chromosome and also caused variation in the amount, but not the distribution, of crossing over in the third chromosome. The total amount of crossing over on a chromosome varied by 12-14%. One small region varied twofold; other regions varied by 16-38%. Lines with less crossing over on one chromosome generally had less crossing over on other chromosomes, the opposite of the standard interchromosomal effect. These results show that modifiers of recombination can affect more than one chromosome, and that the variation exists for fine-scale response to selection on recombination.