High recombination between the breakpoint of a reciprocal translocation in rye (Secale cereale L.) and an interstitially located gene

Summary The recombination fraction between the interstitially located gene an and interchange 303 of rye was found to be 0.244±0.038 in a test cross using the translocation as the male parent. In first metaphase translocation configurations in pollen mother cells of the same plant, the chiasma frequency between an and the translocation breakpoint was found to be significantly more than twice the recombination fraction. Recombination was concluded to be masked by a difference in the alternate frequency between configurations without interstitial chiasmata and configurations with interstitial chiasmata, the effect of the first type being of major importance. Random centromere orientation of translocation multivalents with interstitial chiasmata was concluded to be a realistic assumption. The exceptionally high recombination between an and translocation 303 is discussed. Consideration is also given to the use of interchanges in the establishment of a marker's chromosomal position, and to the use of translocation chromosomes in balanced systems for hybrid breeding purposes.     

Evolutionary dynamics of a B chromosome invasion in island populations of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

Four natural populations of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans in the Mallorca island were analysed for several years revealing the recent invasion of the B₁ chromosome from the south‐west part of the island (Palma region) towards the north and to the east. In only 10 years, the mean number of Bs in the northern population at Pollença increased from 0.053 to 0.692. Therefore, B chromosome invasion seems to be very rapid and has recently arrived to the north of the island. The south‐west (close to Palma) is the most likely point at which B invasion started in the Mallorca Island. Finally, the number of B chromosomes was significantly associated to an increase in chiasma frequency (and thus recombination) in A chromosomes.     

Presence and behaviour of B-chromosomes in Acanthophyllum laxiusculum (Caryophyllaceae)

Two karyotypic variants were recognized in populations of Acanthophyllum laxiusculum Schiman-Czeika. Variant A had 2N = 30 and variant B showed the presence of 0 to 3 B-chromosomes in addition to 2N = 30 chromosomes. Analysis of chromosome behaviour at meiosis showed that the presence of B-chromosomes increases chiasma frequency in A-chromosomes; this effect was higher for plants with odd numbers of B-chromosomes compared with plants with even numbers of B-chromosomes. Comparisons of variants A and B, suggests that B-chromosomes have an effect pollen stainability and seed production. It seems that the presence of B-chromosomes may increase pollen stainability and seed production in variant B.     

Evolutionary chromosomal differentiation among four species of Conoderus Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Agrypninae, Conoderini) detected by standard staining, C-banding, silver nitrate impregnation, and CMA3/DA/DAPI staining

The speciose Brazilian Elateridae fauna is characterized by high karyotypic diversity, including one species (Chalcolepidius zonatus Eschscholtz, 1829) with the lowest diploid number within any Coleoptera order. Cytogenetic analysis of Conoderus dimidiatus Germar, 1839, C. scalaris (Germar, 1824,) C. ternarius Germar, 1839, and C. stigmosus Germar, 1839 by standard and differential staining was performed with the aim of establishing mechanisms of karyotypic differentiation in these species. Conoderus dimidiatus, C. scalaris, and C. ternarius have diploid numbers of 2n(♂) = 17 and 2n(♀) = 18, and a X0/XX sex determination system, similar to that encountered in the majority of Conoderini species. The karyotype of C. stigmosus was characterized by a diploid number of 2n=16 and a neoXY/neoXX sex determination system that was highly differentiated from other species of the genus. Some features of the mitotic and meiotic chromosomes suggest an autosome/ancestral X chromosome fusion as the cause of the neoXY system origin in C. stigmosus. C-banding and silver impregnation techniques showed that the four Conoderus species possess similar chromosomal characteristics to those registered in most Polyphaga species, including pericentromeric C band and autosomal NORs. Triple staining techniques including CMA₃/DA/DAPI also provided useful information for differentiating these Conoderus species. These techniques revealed unique GC-rich heterochromatin associated with NORs in C. scalaris and C. stigmosus and CMA₃-heteromorphism in C. scalaris and C. ternarius.     

Sex differences in meiosis between Viciafaba L. and its close wild relatives

Comparison of chiasma frequency was made in male and female meiocytes of the widely cultivated Vicia faba L. and its close wild allies in the Vwia narbonensis species complex. Contrary to most of the earlier reports of higher chiasma frequency in female sex cells, a higher chiasma frequency was observed in male sex cells. This pattern is restricted to the species representing the Narbonensis complex, since Vicia faba shows identical chiasma frequency in male and female sex cells. The genetic significance of these findings is that chiasma formation in the sex cells of the putative allies is governed and regulated by similar controlling systems of genes, but that of V. faba indicates a different kind of system.     

The Role of Viral Infection in Inducing Variability in Virus-Free Progeny in Tomato

The effect of virus-host interactions on subsequent generations is poorly understood. The evaluation of the effects of viral infection on inheritance of quantitative traits in the progeny of infected plants and elucidation of a possible relationship between chiasma frequency in the infected plants and variability of traits in the progeny were investigated. The current study involved genotypes of four intraspecific hybrids of tomato （Solanum lycopersicum L.）, their parental forms and two additional cultivars. Used as infection were the tobacco mosaic virus （TMV） and potato virus X （PVX）. The consequences of the effect of viral infection were evaluated based on chromosome pairing in diakinesis and/or by examining quantitative and qualitative traits in the progeny of the infected tomato plants. Tomato plants infected with TMV ＋ PVX were found to differ in chiasma frequency per pollen mother cell or per bivalent. Deviations have been observed for genotypes of both F1 hybrids and cultivars. At the same time, differences in mean values of the traits under study have only been found for progeny populations （F2-F4） derived from virus-infected F1 hybrids, but not in the case of progeny of the infected cultivars. The rate of recombinants combining traits of both parents increased significantly （2.22-8.24 times） in progeny populations of hybrids infected with TMV＋PVX. The above suggests that the observed effects could be the result of modification of recombination frequencies that can be manifested in heterozygous hybrids and make small contributions to variability in cases of ＇homozygous＇ tomato genotypes （i.e. cultivars）.     

Sex differences in recombination

One of the stronger empirical generalizations to emerge from the study of genetic systems is that achiasmate meiosis, which has evolved 25–30 times, is always restricted to the heterogametic sex in dioecious species, usually the male. Here we collate data on quantitative sex differences in chiasma frequency from 54 species (4 hermaphroditic flatworms, 18 dioecious insects and vertebrates and 32 hermaphroditic plants) to test whether similar trends hold. Though significant sex differences have been observed within many species, only the Liliaceae show a significant sexual dimorphism in chiasma frequency across species, with more crossing over in embryo mother cells than in pollen mother cells; chiasma frequencies are unrelated to sex and gamety in all other higher taxa studied. Further, the magnitude of sexual dimorphism, independent of sign, does not differ among the three main ecological groups (dioecious animals, plants, and hermaphroditic animals), contrary to what would be expected if it reflected sex-specific selection on recombination. These results indicate that the strong trends for achiasmate meiosis do not apply to quantitative sex differences in recombination, and contradict theories of sex-specific costs and benefits. An alternative hypothesis suggests that sex differences may be more-or-less neutral, selection determining only the mean rate of recombination. While male and female chiasma frequencies are more similar than would be expected under complete neutrality, a less absolute form of the hypothesis is more difficult to falsify. In female mice the sex bivalent has more chiasmata for its length than the autosomes, perhaps compensating for the absence of recombination in males. Finally, we observe that chiasma frequencies in males and females are positively correlated across species, validating the use of only one sex in comparative studies of recombination.     

Histone hyperacetylation affects meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation in Arabidopsis

In this study, the meiotic role of MEIOTIC CONTROL OF CROSSOVERS1 (MCC1), a GCN5‐related histone N‐acetyltransferase, is described in Arabidopsis. Analysis of the over‐expression mutant obtained by enhancer activation tagging revealed that acetylation of histone H3 increased in male prophase I. MCC1 appeared to be required in meiosis for normal chiasma number and distribution and for chromosome segregation. Overall, elevated MCC1 did not affect crossover number per cell, but has a differential effect on individual chromosomes elevating COs for chromosome 4, in which there is also a shift in chiasma distribution, and reducing COs for chromosome 1 and 2. For the latter there is a loss of the obligate CO/chiasma in 8% of the male meiocytes. The meiotic defects led to abortion in about half of the male and female gametes in the mutant. In wild type, the treatment with trichostatin A, an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, phenocopies MCC1 over‐expression in meiosis. Our results provide evidence that histone hyperacetylation has a significant impact on the plant meiosis.     

Recombination and speciation

Speciation can be viewed as the evolution of restrictions on the freedom of genetic recombination: new combinations of alleles can be generated within species, but alleles from different species cannot be brought together. Recently, there has been increasing realization that the role of chromosomal rearrangements in speciation might be primarily a result of their influence on recombination. I argue that ideas about the role of recombination in speciation should be considered in the context of the variability of recombination rates and patterns more generally and that genic as well as chromosomal causes of restricted recombination should be considered. I review patterns of variation in recombination rates and theoretical progress in understanding the conditions that favour increased or decreased rates. Although progress has been made in understanding conditions that alter overall rates of recombination, widespread variation in patterns of recombination remains largely unexplained. I consider three models for the role of locally restricted recombination in speciation and the evidence currently supporting them.