The mechanism of genetic recombination

A genetic analysis of the rudimentary locus of Drosophila melanogaster

A study of the structural and functional organization of the rudimentary (r: 1–54·5) locus of Drosophila melanogaster has demonstrated that alleles of this gene reside in a number of recombinationally separable sites, and display a complex pattern of interallelic interaction. Data relating to interallelic interaction have been utilized to construct a linear complementation map consisting of 7 complementation units and 16 complementation groups. Comparison of the genetic fine structure map and the complementation map shows that the two maps are approximately co-linear. Totally non-complementing alleles reside at both ends of the fine structure map. The r locus is best interpreted by the model of a single cistron whose product affects several distinct developmental processes and whose alleles display a complex pattern of interallelic complementation. Intragenic recombination within the r locus is accompanied by the appearance of parental and recombinant flanking marker classes not expected on the basis of reciprocal recombination. Studies with half-tetrads demonstrate that intragenic recombination can occur either by gene conversion or by a reciprocal exchange mechanism. The pattern of organization seen at the r locus is similar to patterns of organization found in work with fungal genes.

The effect of an inverted chromosome segment on intragenic recombination in another chromosome of Sordaria brevicollis

An inverted segment in one of the chromosomes of Sordaria brevicollis has been found to have a marked effect on recombination within a gene in another chromosome. There are two effects on the intragenic recombination pattern, namely, a change in the polarity of recombination and a change in the frequency of parental and recombinant outside markers. The results support the idea that a mechanism exists for cancelling crossovers shortly after they have been formed as a means of controlling their number.

Multiple pathways of recombination induced by double-strand breaks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been the principal organism used in experiments to examine genetic recombination in eukaryotes. Studies over the past decade have shown that meiotic recombination and probably most mitotic recombination arise from the repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs). There are multiple pathways by which such DSBs can be repaired, including several homologous recombination pathways and still other nonhomologous mechanisms. Our understanding has also been greatly enriched by the characterization of many proteins involved in recombination and by insights that link aspects of DNA repair to chromosome replication. New molecular models of DSB-induced gene conversion are presented. This review encompasses these different aspects of DSB-induced recombination in Saccharomyces and attempts to relate genetic, molecular biological, and biochemical studies of the processes of DNA repair and recombination.

Bacterial conjugation: an analysis of mixed recombinant clones

A fraction of recombinant colonies resulting from conjugation is heterogenetic for unselected markers. Constitutivity for alkaline phosphatase synthesis (phoR) is studied as the unselected marker. The frequency of phoR heterogeneity depends on the genetic distance between phoR and the selected marker. Various models are considered which explain the formation of heterogenetic colonies (mixed clones), and experiments are described which test these models. It is concluded that the Hfr fragment can replicate and participate more than once in recombination thus yielding heterogenetic colonies.

The synaptinemal complex and four-strand crossing over

The synaptinemal complex provides a structural basis for four-strand crossing over: prior to chromosome pairing, both sister chromatids of each homologous chromosome participate in the genesis of one lateral component. During precise pairing, the two lateral components are combined into one synaptinemal complex per bivalent.