Intron Size Correlates Positively With Recombination Rate in Caenorhabditis elegans

Corresponding author: Michael F. Palopoli, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011., mpalopol{at}bowdoin.edu (E-mail)

Communicating editor: S. HENIKOFF

A negative correlation between intron size and recombination rate has been reported for the Drosophila melanogaster and human genomes. Population-genetic models suggest that this pattern could be caused by an interaction between recombination rate and the efficacy of natural selection. To test this idea, we examined variation in intron size and recombination rate across the genome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Interestingly, we found that intron size correlated positively with recombination rate in this species.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. S. Hughes, C. O. Buckley, and D. E. Neafsey Complex Selection on Intron Size in Cryptococcus neoformans Mol. Biol. Evol., February 1, 2008; 25(2): 247 - 253. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Beye, I. Gattermeier, M. Hasselmann, T. Gempe, M. Schioett, J. F. Baines, D. Schlipalius, F. Mougel, C. Emore, O. Rueppell, et al. Exceptionally high levels of recombination across the honey bee genome Genome Res., November 1, 2006; 16(11): 1339 - 1344. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. C. Presgraves Intron Length Evolution in Drosophila Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2006; 23(11): 2203 - 2213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Marais, P. Nouvellet, P. D. Keightley, and B. Charlesworth Intron Size and Exon Evolution in Drosophila Genetics, May 1, 2005; 170(1): 481 - 485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]