Independent genetic basis of meiotic crossover positioning and interference in domestic pigs

Abstract

Abstract Meiotic crossover patterning shows huge variation within and between chromosomes, individuals, and species, yet the molecular and evolutionary causes and consequences of this variation remain poorly understood. A key step is to understand the genetic architecture of the crossover rate, positioning, and interference to determine if these factors are governed by common or distinct genetic processes. Here, we investigate individual variation in autosomal crossover count, crossover position (measured as both intra-chromosomal shuffling and distance to telomere), and crossover interference in a large breeding population of domestic pigs (N = 82,474 gametes). We show that all traits are heritable in females at the gamete (h2 = 0.07–0.11) and individual mean levels (h2 = 0.08–0.41). In females, crossover count, and interference are strongly associated with RNF212, but crossover positioning is associated with SYCP2, MEI4, and PRDM9. Our results show that crossover positioning and rate/interference are driven by distinct genetic processes in female pigs and have the capacity to evolve independently.