Data from: Meta‐analysis of chromosome‐scale crossover rate variation in eukaryotes and its significance to evolutionary genomics

Our quantitative analysis reveals a strong and taxonomically wide-spread reduction of the crossover rate in the center of chromosomes relative to their peripheries. We demonstrate that this pattern is poorly explained by the position of the centromere, but find that the magnitude of the relative reduction in the crossover rate in chromosome centers increases with chromosome length. That is, long chromosomes often display a dramatically low crossover rate in their center whereas short chromosomes exhibit a relatively homogeneous crossover rate.

This observation is compatible with a model in which crossovers are initiated from the chromosome tips, an idea with preliminary support from mechanistic investigations of meiotic recombination. Consequently, we show that organisms achieve a higher genome-wide crossover rate by evolving smaller chromosomes. Summarizing theory and providing empirical examples, we finally highlight that taxonomically wide-spread and systematic heterogeneity in crossover rate along chromosomes generates predictable broad-scale trends in genetic diversity and population differentiation by modifying the impact of natural selection among regions within a genome.

We conclude by emphasizing that chromosome-scale heterogeneity in crossover rate should urgently be incorporated into analytical tools in evolutionary genomics, and in the interpretation of emerging patterns.

Usage notes

Raw recombination data ArgoutEtAl2011_Mb.cM.dot.txt ArgyrisEtAl2015_Mb.cM.dot AriasEtAl2009_Mb.cM.dot AutonEtAl2012_Mb.RR.line BackstroemEtAl2010_Mb.cM.dot BauerEtAl2013_Mb.cM.line BekeleEtAl2013_Mb.cM.dot BhaktaEtAl2015_Mb.cM.dot BlankersEtAl2017_Mb.cM.dot BradleyEtAl2010_Mb.cM.dot CherryEtAl2012_Mb.cM.dot ComeronEtAl2012_Mb.RR.line CrollEtAl2015_cross1_Mb.RR.line CrollEtAl2015_cross2_Mb.RR.line DaccordEtAl2017_Mb.cM.dot DaveyEtAl2016_Mb.cM.line DeokarEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot DohmEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot DukicEtAl2016_Mb.cM.dot Endelman&Jansky2016_Mb.cM.dot GardnerEtAl2016_Mb.cM.dot GirautEtAl2011_Mb.RR.line GroenenEtAl2009_Mb.cM.dot HillEtAl2015_Mb.cM.dot HoleskiEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot HuangEtAL2017_Mb.cM.dot HuoEtAl2011_Mb.RR.line IntPeachGenomeInitiative2013_Mb.cM.dot Jensen-SeamanEtAl2004_Homo_Mb.cM.line Jensen-SeamanEtAl2004_Rattus_Mb.cM.dot JohnstonEtAl2016_Mb.cM.line JohnstonEtAl2017_Mb.cM.dot JunejaEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot KawakamiEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot LaurentEtAl2017_Mb.cM.dot LiEtAl2016_Mb.cM.line LiuEtAl2016_Mb.cM.line LiuEtAl2017_Mb.RR.line LuoEtAl2015_Mb.RR.line NiehuisEtAl2010_Mb.cM.dot NunesEtAl2017_Mb.cM.dot RenautEtAl2013_Mb.cM.dot RenEtAl2012_Mb.cM.dot Rockman&Kruglyak2009_Mb.cM.line RoestiEtAl2013_Mb.cM.dot RossEtAl2011_Mb.cM.dot SchmutzEtAl2010_Mb.cM.dot ShulaevEtAl2011_Mb.cM.dot Sim&Geib2017_Mb.cM.dot SolignacEtAl2007_Mb.cM.line TianEtAl2009_Mb.cM.dot TomatoGenomeConsortium2012_Mb.RR.line TongEtAl2016_P.deltoides_Mb.cM.dot TongEtAl2016_P.simonii_Mb.cM.dot TortereauEtAl2012_Mb.RR.dot WangEtAl2015_Brassica_Mb.cM.dot WangEtAl2015_Brassica_Mb.cM.dot WangEtAl2015_Gossypium_Mb.cM.dot.txt WangEtAl2017_fam1_f_Mb.cM.line WangEtAl2017_fam1_m_Mb.cM.line WangEtAl2017_fam2_f_Mb.cM.line WangEtAl2017_fam2_m_Mb.cM.line WangEtAl2017_fam3_f_Mb.cM.line WangEtAl2017_fam3_m_Mb.cM.line WongEtAl2010_Mb.RR.line WuEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot XuEtAl2014_Mb.cM.dot ZhangEtAl2012_Mb.cM.dot