Gene conversion violates the stepwise mutation model for microsatellites in y-chromosomal palindromic repeats.

ABSTRACT: The male-specific region of the human Y chromosome (MSY) contains eight large inverted repeats (palindromes), in which high-sequence similarity between repeat arms is maintained by gene conversion. These palindromes also harbor microsatellites, considered to evolve via a stepwise mutation model (SMM). Here, we ask whether gene conversion between palindrome microsatellites contributes to their mutational dynamics. First, we study the duplicated tetranucleotide microsatellite DYS385a,b lying in palindrome P4. We show, by comparing observed data with simulated data under a SMM within haplogroups, that observed heteroallelic combinations in which the modal repeat number difference between copies was large, can give rise to homoallelic combinations with zero-repeats difference, equivalent to ma

SUBMITTER: Balaresque P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4233959 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature