Unequal Sister Chromatid and Homolog Recombination at a Tandem Duplication of the a1 Locus in Maize

Marna D Yandeau-Nelson, Yiji Xia, Jin Li, M. Gerald Neuffer, Patrick S. Schnable*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tandemly arrayed duplicate genes are prevalent. The maize A1-b haplotype is a tandem duplication that consists of the components, α and β. The rate of meiotic unequal recombination at A1-b is ninefold higher when a homolog is present than when it is absent (i.e., hemizygote). When a sequence heterologous homolog is available, 94% of recombinants (264/281) are generated via recombination with the homolog rather than with the sister chromatid. In addition, 83% (220/264) of homolog recombination events involved α rather than β. These results indicate that: (1) the homolog is the preferred template for unequal recombination and (2) pairing of the duplicated segments with the homolog does not occur randomly but instead favors a particular configuration. The choice of recombination template (i.e., homolog vs. sister chromatid) affects the distribution of recombination breakpoints within a1. Rates of unequal recombination at A1-b are similar to the rate of recombination between nonduplicated a1 alleles. Unequal recombination is therefore common and is likely to be responsible for the generation of genetic variability, even within inbred lines.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2211-2226
Number of pages16
JournalGenetics
Volume173
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2006

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Genetics

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