Modeling the evolution of recombination plasticity: A prospective review

Abstract

Meiotic recombination is one of the main sources of genetic variation, a fundamental factor in the evolutionary adaptation of sexual eukaryotes. Yet, the role of variation in recombination rate and other recombination features remains underexplored. In this review, we focus on the sensitivity of recombination rates to different extrinsic and intrinsic factors. We briefly present the empirical evidence for recombination plasticity in response to environmental perturbations and/or poor genetic background and discuss theoretical models developed to explain how such plasticity could have evolved and how it can affect important population characteristics. We highlight a gap between the evidence, which comes mostly from experiments with diploids, and theory, which typically assumes haploid selection. Finally, we formulate open questions whose solving would help to outline conditions favoring recombination plasticity. This will contribute to answering the long‐standing question of why sexual recombination exists despite its costs, since plastic recombination may be evolutionary advantageous even in selection regimes rejecting any non‐zero constant recombination.

Metabolic stress-induced long ncRNA transcription governs the formation of meiotic DNA breaks in the fission yeast fbp1 gene

“…At a molecular level, mutations in genes cause diversity in the functionality of genes, and it is believed that alleles possessing advantages that fit environmental conditions are selected from such diverse alleles [ 68 ]. Meiotic recombination produces genetic diversity in gametes via genome-shuffling between parental genomes [ 2 , 3 ], and the resultant diversity in offspring might play an important role in evolution [ 4 – 6 ]. In the current study, we show that transcription events induced by environmental changes trigger meiotic DSB formation events.…”

“…These recombination events generate crossovers that facilitate close contact to form bivalent chromosomes, which are pivotal for proper reductional chromosome segregation during meiosis I [1]. Moreover, meiotic recombination contributes to the augmentation of genetic diversity in gametes [2,3], and the resultant diversity of offspring is thought to be important for the survival of a species in response to environmental fluctuations and to play an important role in evolution [4][5][6]. Whilst it has long been known that the distribution of recombination frequencies is influenced by environmental conditions, such as the temperature during gametogenesis [7][8][9][10], the mechanism underlying such changes in meiotic recombination frequencies has not been elucidated.…”

Understanding the Genetic Basis of Variation in Meiotic Recombination: Past, Present, and Future

“…They also vary relative to broad and fine-scale features of the genome ( Haenel et al 2018 ; Brazier and Glémin 2022 ), and often occur in narrow recombination “hotspots” throughout the genome (reviewed in Choi and Henderson 2015 ; Zelkowski et al 2019 ). Finally, they can be plastic, varying with individual and environmental factors such as age, temperature, infection status, and oxidative stress (reviewed in Bomblies et al 2015 ; Rybnikov et al 2023 ).…”