Meiotic recombination and genome evolution in plants

Cathy Melamed-Bessudo, Shay Shilo, Avraham Levy

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Homologous recombination affects genome evolution through crossover, gene conversion and point mutations. Whole genome sequencing together with a detailed epigenome analysis have shed new light on our understanding of how meiotic recombination shapes plant genes and genome structure. Crossover events are associated with DNA sequence motifs, together with an open chromatin signature (hypomethylated CpGs, low nucleosome occupancy or specific histone modifications). The crossover landscape may differ between male and female meiocytes and between species. At the gene level, crossovers occur preferentially in promoter regions in Arabidopsis. In recent years, there is rising support suggesting that biased mismatch repair during meiotic recombination may increase GC content genome-wide and may be responsible for the GC content gradient found in many plant genes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)82-87
Number of pages6
JournalCurrent Opinion in Plant Biology
Volume30
Early online date1 Mar 2016
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Meiotic recombination and genome evolution in plants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this