The properties of meiotic gene conversion important in its effects on evolution

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary genetics
• Population genetics
• Molecular evolution

Background:

• Gene conversion is a key mechanism influencing genetic variation and evolution.
• Understanding its parameters is crucial for population genetics models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the limits, distributions, and typical values of evolution-related gene conversion parameters.
• To assess the importance of gene conversion as a force in population allele frequency changes.

Main Methods:

• Extensive surveys of gene conversion parameters (c, b, d, y) were conducted in fungi, Drosophila, and maize.
• Analysis focused on the range and distribution of these parameters across different mutations and loci.

Main Results:

• Gene conversion frequency (c) and allele bias (b) showed enormous ranges and dispersed distributions, often non-normally distributed.
• Disparity in conversion direction (d) was frequent and extreme in fungi.
• The force of gene conversion on allele frequencies (y) exhibited a wide range of values, with many non-zero values indicating significant impact.

Conclusions:

• Gene conversion is frequently an important force in changing allele frequencies in fungi, favoring either mutant or wild-type alleles.
• The impact of gene conversion depends on factors like dominance, selection, and mutation rates.
• Frame-shift mutations tend to show more extreme disparity and higher gene conversion forces than base-substitutions.