SELECTION ON RECOMBINATION IN A MULTI-LOCUS SYSTEM

D. Charlesworth ¹ and B. Charlesworth ¹

¹ Laboratory of Environmental Mutagenesis, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P. O. Box 12233 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709

The model of Wills and Miller (1976) for selection on recombination rates in finite populations was studied by means of a computer model involving 80 selected loci and a linked or unlinked modifier gene affecting the map length occupied by the selected loci. The selected loci were subject to heterozygote advantage, and multiplicative fitness interactions between loci were assumed. In all cases studied, selection for reduction in recombination out-weighed any selection for increased recombination that may have been present.