title: Chromosome rearrangement by ectopic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster: genome structure and evolution.
abstract: Ectopic recombination between interspersed repeat sequences generates chromosomal rearrangements that have a major impact on genome structure. A survey of ectopic recombination in the region flanking the white locus of Drosophila melanogaster identified 25 transposon-mediated rearrangements from four parallel experiments. Eighteen of the 25 were generated from females carrying X chromosomes heterozygous for interspersed repeat sequences. The cytogenetic and molecular analyses of the rearrangements and the parental chromosomes show: (1) interchromosomal and intrachromosomal recombinants are generated in about equal numbers; (2) ectopic recombination appears to be a meiotic process that is stimulated by the interchromosomal effect to about the same degree as regular crossing over; (3) copies of the retrotransposon roo were involved in all of the interchromosomal exchanges; some copies were involved much more frequently than others in the target region; (4) homozygosis for interspersed repeat sequences and other sequence variations significantly reduced ectopic recombination.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Langley
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Judd
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005127:Eye Color / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005796:Genes; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D008297:Male; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D014178:Translocation, Genetic; D014960:X Chromosome