The Gamblers’ Guide to Genetics

Meiotic division, ubiquitous in eukaryotes, involves the active catalysis of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). These breaks are repaired via homologous repair, often involving a gene conversion tract, and producing either a crossover (necessary for efficient segregation of chromosomes) or a non-crossover event, generally recombining gene alleles. In most species, DSBs are localized at transcription start sites of actively transcribed genes. As transcription changes in response to the environment, the distribution of recombination may change accordingly. This thesis tested changes in recombination distribution in Saccharomyces paradoxus and Arabidopsis thaliana in response to the environment. We observed changes in the distribution of recombination events in S. paradoxus in response to temperature and carbon source, but no changes in recombination rate in A thaliana in larger windows. Directing recombination to regions under selection may increase the likelihood of beneficial recombination and facilitate the migration of beneficial alleles across genetic backgrounds.