Sex-specific evolutionary programs shape recombination rate evolution in house mice.

ABSTRACT: Recombination rates vary across species, populations, and sexes. House mice (Mus musculus) present a particularly extreme example. Prior studies have established large differences in global recombination rates between M. musculus subspecies and inbred strains, with males exhibiting more extensive variation than females. The observation of sex-limited variation has prompted the hypothesis that male and female recombination rates may evolve by distinct evolutionary mechanisms in M. musculus. Here, we formally evaluate this hypothesis in a phylogenetic framework. We combine cytogenetic estimates of genomic crossover counts with published data to compile a large dataset of sex-specific crossover rate estimates totaling >6,000 single meiotic cells from 31 genetically diverse inbred mouse strain

SUBMITTER: Wooldridge LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12774844 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature