Gene Conversion
Accounts for Intera[[el.ic
Recombination
Heterodup[ex DNA that is created
by
re-
combination can have mismatched
seouences
where the recombining al[etes
are
not identicat.
Repair systems may remove mismatches
by
changing one of the strands so its sequence is
comptementary to the other.
The involvement
of
heteroduplex
DNA explains
the characteristics of recombination
between
alleles; indeed, allelic recombination
provided
the
impetus for the
development of the
het-
eroduplex
model.
When recombination be-
tween alleles was discovered, the natural
assumption
was
that it takes
place
by the same
mechanism of
reciprocal
recombination that
applies to more distant loci. That is to say, an
individual
breakage
and reunion
event occurs
within the
locus
to
generate
a reciprocal
pair
of
recombinant chromosomes. In the
close
quar-
ters of a single
gene.
however,
the formation of
heteroduplex DNA itself is
usually
responsible
for the recombination event.
Individual recombination
events
can be
studied
in the ascomycetes fungi,
because
the
products
of a single meiosis are held together in
a
large cell called the ascus(or Iess
commonly.
the tetrad).
Even
better
is
that in some
fungi,
the
four haploid nuclei
produced
by
meiosis are
arranged in a
linear
order.
(Actually,
a
mitosis
occurs after the
production
of these four
nuclei,
giving
a
linear series of eight haploid nuclei.)
i:iiiiifii
.i
-:. i,-i
shows that each of these
nuclei
effectively
represents the
genetic
character of
one of the eight strands of the four chromo-
somes
produced
by the meiosis.
Meiosis
in
a
heterozygote
should
generate
four
copies
of each allele. This is seen in the
majority of spores.
There
are some
spores,
though,
with abnormal ratios. They are
explained
by the formation and correction of
heteroduplex
DNA in the region in which the
alleles differ.
The figure illustrates a recombi-
nation event in which a length of hybrid
DNA
occurs on one of
the four meiotic
chromosomes,
a
possible
outcome of recombination initiated
by
a double-strand break.
Suppose
that two alleles differ by a single
point
mutation. When a strand exchange
occurs
to
generate
heteroduplex
DNA,
the two
strands
No recombination
4:4
parental
ratio
i'I
ii
rC:
ro:
:@;
1@i
1@i
:@i
3:5
postmeiotic
segregation
Both
hybrids
r@i
ioi
'9
'
2:6gene
S
r
conversion
iJi
are
conveded
to red
*
fii;;l,i.it5
:ii;,:lr
Spore
formation
in the ascomycetes
atlows
determination
of
the
genetic
constitution
of
each of
the DNA strands
jnvolved
in
meiosis.
of
the heteroduplex
will
be mispaired
at
the site
of
mutation. Thus
each strand
of
DNA carries
different
genetic
information.
If no change
is
made in the sequence,
the
strands
separate
at
the ensuing
replication,
each
giving rise to a
duplex
that
perpetuates its information.
This
event
is called
postmeiotic segregation,
because it reflects
the separation
of
DNA strands
after
meiosis.
Its importance
is that
it
demon-
strates directly
the
existence
of
heteroduplex
DNA in recombining
alleles.
Another effect
is seen
when
examining
recombination
between
alleles:
the
proportions
of
the alleles differ
from the
initial
4:4
ratio.
This effect
is called
gene conversion.
It
describes a
nonreciprocal
transfer
of informa-
tion
from one chromatid
to another.
Gene conversion
results
from
exchange
of
strands
between
DNA
molecules,
and
the
change
in sequence
may
have
either
of two
causes
at the
molecular
level:
.
As indicated
by
the double-strand
break
model
in Figure
I9.9, one
DNA duPlex
may act as
a donor
of
genetic informa-
tion
that directly
replaces
the correspon-
ding sequences
in the
recipient
duplex
by
a
process of
gap
generation, strand
exchange,
and
gap
filling.
.
As
part
of
the exchange
process, het-
eroduplex
DNA
is
generated when
a sin-
gle
strand
from
one
duplex
pairs
with
its
complement
in the
other
duplex.
19.11 Gene
Conversion
Accounts
for Interattetic
Recombination
475