Genomic features shaping the landscape of meiotic double-strand-break hotspots in maize.

ABSTRACT: Meiotic recombination is the most important source of genetic variation in higher eukaryotes. It is initiated by formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in chromosomal DNA in early meiotic prophase. The DSBs are subsequently repaired, resulting in crossovers (COs) and noncrossovers (NCOs). Recombination events are not distributed evenly along chromosomes but cluster at recombination hotspots. How specific sites become hotspots is poorly understood. Studies in yeast and mammals linked initiation of meiotic recombination to active chromatin features present upstream from genes, such as absence of nucleosomes and presence of trimethylation of lysine 4 in histone H3 (H3K4me3). Core recombination components are conserved among eukaryotes, but it is unclear whether this conservation results in

SUBMITTER: He Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5699076 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature