Genetic modification of recombination rate in Tribolium castaneum

Abstract

Asymmetrical responses were obtained in a replicated study of 15 generations of two-way selection for recombination rate between the ruby (rb) and jet (j) loci in Tribolium castaneum. Recombination rates in the two replicate high lines increased from an average of 0.22 in the base populations to an average of 0.42 at generation 15. Recombination rate pooled over the 15 generations of selection in each low line was significantly less than the control but there was no clear downward trend in response to selection for decreased recombination rate. The realized heritabilities were 0.16 +/- 0.03 and 0.17 +/- 0.02 in the two high lines, and were not significantly different from zero in the two low lines. Selection was based on crossing over in cis females only; however, rates measured in cis males after 12 generations showed the same response patterns as female rates. Similar response patterns were also determined for recombination measured in trans males and females at generation 18 following three generations of relaxed selection. The distribution of recombination rates measured in backcross beetles [(H X L) X H and (H X L) X L] at generation 12 indicated polygenic control with those genes decreasing recombination rate being dominant. Detailed analysis of recombination rates in F1's produced by interline crosses at generation 15 confirmed the directional dominance findings. Under a polygenic model of recombination modifiers in which low recombination is dominant to high, average recombination rates will increase as inbreeding progresses, thus providing a mechanism for the production of new gene combinations in small populations.