CAREER: The Evolution of fine-scale recombination landscapes

减数分裂重组是配子形成过程中配对染色体间遗传信息交换的过程。这种交换对繁殖成功和遗传变异的产生至关重要，从而为进化变化提供了原料。如果重组出错，配子就会产生缺失或额外的遗传信息拷贝。这种染色体错误是人类胎儿丢失、智力损伤和发育残疾的主要遗传原因。重组事件的数量和位置在物种内部和物种之间是不同的，原因很大程度上是未知的。这个项目将研究是什么决定了重组事件的频率和染色体区域的变化。与这项研究相关的教育工作为属于不同年级代表性不足群体的学生提供遗传学和生物信息学方面的培训。该项目的一个目标是利用经典遗传学和下一代测序相结合的方法，确定染色体减数分裂重组事件分布的种内和种间变异的性质、程度和遗传基础。计算机模拟将用于确定这种空间变化对物种内部和物种之间遗传变异模式的重组事件分布的影响。最后，生物信息学方法将用于确定交叉分布如何响应自然选择而变化。这项工作的广泛影响包括培养学生和博士后，广泛传播结果，生成对社区有价值的重组数据，并与北卡罗来纳自然科学博物馆合作，向公众传达我们的工作。

Meiotic recombination is the process by which genetic information is exchanged between paired chromosomes during gamete formation. This exchange is central to reproductive success and the generation of genetic variation, thereby providing the raw material for evolutionary change. If recombination goes awry, gametes can be formed with missing or extra copies of genetic information. Such chromosomal errors are the leading genetic cause of fetal loss, mental impairment, and developmental disability in humans. The number and location of recombination events varies within and among species for largely unknown reasons. This project will examine what determines variation in the frequency and chromosomal region of recombination events. Educational efforts associated with this research provide training in genetics and bioinformatics for students belonging to under-represented groups at different grade levels.One goal of the project is to determine the nature, extent, and genetic basis of intra- and inter-specific variation in the distribution of meiotic recombination events along a chromosome using a combination of classical genetics and next generation sequencing. Computer simulations will be used to determine the consequences of this spatial variation in the distribution of recombination events for patterns of genetic variation within and between species. Finally, bioinformatics approaches will be used to determine how crossover distribution changes in response to natural selection. Broader impacts of this work include training of students and a postdoc, broad dissemination of the results, generating recombination data that will be valuable to the community, and working with the NC Museum of Natural Science to communicate our work to the public.