Project Title:

Understanding the effect of natural variation on the frequency of meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana

Project Summary:

Meiosis is a highly specialised and deeply conserved process of cell division in eukaryotic organisms. The gametes produced by meiosis show increased genetic diversity through having undergone meiotic recombination during prophase I of meiosis. Crossover events are tightly controlled with multiple layers of regulation and patterning of crossovers can be species and population specific. The regulatory factors limiting meiotic recombination are well documented to be affected by a range of environmental stimuli and genetic changes. For example, the introduction of a genetically divergent ecotype and or changes to temperature are known to increase or decrease recombinations. In my project, I aim to understand the effect of natural variation between different Arabidopsis thaliana accessions on the rate of meiotic recombination. Through investigating the effects of these variables, a greater understanding of meiotic recombination and the factors governing crossovers will be achieved.