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Updated: May 15, 2025

An Allele-specific Gene Expression Assay to Test the Functional Basis of Genetic Associations
Published on: November 3, 2010
Ectopic Gene Conversion Causing Quantitative Trait Variation
Marina Pfalz1, Seïf-Eddine Naadja1, Jacqui Anne Shykoff1
1Ecologie Société Evolution, CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay/AgroParisTech, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Abstract:
Why is there so much non-neutral genetic variation segregating in natural populations? We dissect function and evolution of a near-cryptic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for defense metabolites in Arabidopsis using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and nucleotide polymorphism patterns. The QTL is explained by genetic variation in a family of 4 tightly linked indole-glucosinolate O-methyltransferase genes. Some of this variation appears to be maintained by balancing selection, some appears to be generated by non-reciprocal transfer of sequence, also known as ectopic gene conversion (EGC), between functionally diverged gene copies. Here, we elucidate how EGC, as an inevitable consequence of gene duplication, could be a general mechanism for generating genetic variation for fitness traits.
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