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Related Concept Videos

Nondisjunction01:29

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During meiosis, chromosomes occasionally separate improperly. This occurs due to failure of homologous chromosome separation during meiosis I or failed sister chromatid separation during meiosis II. In some species, notably plants, nondisjunction can result in an organism with an entire additional set of chromosomes, which is called polyploidy. In humans, nondisjunction can occur during male or female gametogenesis and the resulting gametes possess one too many or one too few chromosomes.
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Crossing over is the exchange of genetic information between homologous chromosomes during prophase I of meiosis I. Genetic recombination gives rise to allelic diversity in the newly formed daughter cells. In humans, crossing over produces genetically distinct haploid egg and sperm cells that undergo fertilization to produce unique offspring. Before cell division starts, the germ cell’s chromosome(s) undergo duplication in the S phase of the cell cycle. As the cells enter prophase I,...
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Other than maintaining genome stability via DNA repair, homologous recombination plays an important role in diversifying the genome. In fact, the recombination of sequences forms the molecular basis of genomic evolution. Random and non-random permutations of genomic sequences create a library of new amalgamated sequences. These newly formed genomes can determine the fitness and survival of cells. In bacteria, homologous and non-homologous types of recombination lead to the evolution of new...
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Cell division is necessary for growth and reproduction in organisms. Mitosis aids cell growth and development by dividing somatic cells. In contrast, meiosis causes the division of germ cells and plays an essential role in sexual reproduction. Due to their unique functional requirements, mitosis and meiosis differ from each other in multiple aspects.
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Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
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In animals, gender is determined by the number and type of sex chromosome. For example, human females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y chromosome, whereas C.elegans with one X chromosome is a male, and the one with two X chromosomes is a hermaphrodite.
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Updated: Jun 27, 2025

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Why do sex chromosomes progressively lose recombination?

Paul Jay1, Daniel Jeffries2, Fanny E Hartmann3

  • 1Center for GeoGenetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, UMR 8079, Bâtiment 680, 12 route RD128, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

Trends in Genetics : TIG
|April 27, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Evolutionary drivers of sex chromosome recombination loss are unclear. Alternative hypotheses, including sexual antagonism and mutation accumulation, are explored, with a review of supporting empirical evidence.

Keywords:
evolutionary stratainversionmating-type chromosomesrecombination suppressionsex chromosomessupergenes

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary genetics
  • Genomics
  • Sex chromosome evolution

Background:

  • Progressive loss of genetic recombination is a hallmark of sex chromosomes across many species.
  • The evolutionary forces driving this recombination suppression remain largely unknown.
  • Sexual antagonism has been a long-standing hypothesis, but direct evidence is scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and explain recent alternative hypotheses for sex chromosome recombination suppression.
  • To dissect the assumptions, mechanisms, and predictions of these novel hypotheses.
  • To synthesize empirical evidence supporting various explanations for recombination loss.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of recent hypotheses.
  • Theoretical dissection of proposed evolutionary mechanisms.
  • Analysis of empirical studies investigating sex chromosome evolution.

Main Results:

  • Several alternative hypotheses beyond sexual antagonism are presented, including neutral divergence, selection against deleterious mutations, and dosage compensation effects.
  • Each hypothesis's core assumptions and predicted outcomes are critically examined.
  • Empirical findings supporting different hypotheses are collated and discussed.

Conclusions:

  • The evolution of recombination suppression on sex chromosomes is likely multifactorial.
  • Alternative hypotheses offer compelling explanations that warrant further investigation.
  • Future research should focus on distinguishing between these competing evolutionary scenarios.