Escape from crossover interference increases with maternal age

TL;DR

This study analyzes how maternal age affects recombination patterns during meiosis, revealing increased crossover interference escape and changes in hotspot usage in females, with implications for genetic diversity and inheritance.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how maternal age influences recombination distribution and crossover interference escape, using large-scale genetic data.

Findings

Recombination rate increases with maternal age in females.

Hotspot usage decreases as maternal age increases.

Escape from crossover interference in females increases with maternal age.

Abstract

Recombination plays a fundamental role in meiosis, ensuring the proper segregation of chromosomes and contributing to genetic diversity by generating novel combinations of alleles. Using data derived from directUtoUconsumer genetic testing, we investigated patterns of recombination in over 4,200 families. Our analysis revealed a number of sex differences in the distribution of recombination. We find the fraction of male events occurring within hotspots to be 4.6% higher than for females. We confirm that the recombination rate increases with maternal age, while hotspot usage decreases, with no such effects observed in males. Finally, we show that the placement of female recombination events becomes increasingly deregulated with maternal age, with an increasing fraction of events appearing to escape crossover interference.