Assessing The Contribution of Non-crossover (NCO) to Genetic Diversity From a Complete Recombination Map
Abstract
Meiotic recombination is a core molecular event that generates genetic diversity in sexually reproducing organisms, and is of great significance for both genome evolution and proper chromosome segregation. Meiotic recombination occurs in two forms: crossover (CO) and non-crossover (NCO). Although NCO events are far more abundant than CO events, they have been difficult to detect. Consequently, previous research has largely focused on CO, leaving the characteristics and functional roles of NCO poorly understood. A recent study published in Nature used large-scale family-based whole-genome sequencing data to construct a high-resolution recombination map. This map revealed the mutational features induced by NCO—the dominant form of recombination—along with their sex-specific differences, and quantified, for the first time, the contribution of NCOs to de novo mutations and age-related effects, representing an important milestone in the field of meiotic recombination. Specifically, compared with paternal NCOs, maternal NCOs are fewer in number but span longer regions; they accumulate continuously with increasing maternal age and occur largely outside programmed recombination hotspots. NCOs also represent a major source of de novo mutations, with approximately 11% of maternal de novo mutations being attributable to NCOs. This study not only provides a high-resolution map of human meiotic recombination as a resource for future research, but also offers, for the first time, a genome‑wide perspective on the contribution of meiotic NCO recombination to genetic diversity.
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BibTeX
@article{zhihao2026assessing,
title = {{Assessing The Contribution of Non-crossover (NCO) to Genetic Diversity From a Complete Recombination Map}},
author = {DU Zhi-Hao and CANG Jing and LIU Guo-Qing},
journal = {Shengwu huaxue yu shengwu wuli jinzhan},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3724/j.pibb.2026.0304},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3724/j.pibb.2026.0304},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessing The Contribution of Non-crossover (NCO) to Genetic Diversity From a Complete Recombination Map
AU - DU Zhi-Hao
AU - CANG Jing
AU - LIU Guo-Qing
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Shengwu huaxue yu shengwu wuli jinzhan
DO - 10.3724/j.pibb.2026.0304
UR - https://doi.org/10.3724/j.pibb.2026.0304
AB - Meiotic recombination is a core molecular event that generates genetic diversity in sexually reproducing organisms, and is of great significance for both genome evolution and proper chromosome segregation. Meiotic recombination occurs in two forms: crossover (CO) and non-crossover (NCO). Although NCO events are far more abundant than CO events, they have been difficult to detect. Consequently, previous research has largely focused on CO, leaving the characteristics and functional roles of NCO poorly understood. A recent study published in Nature used large-scale family-based whole-genome sequencing data to construct a high-resolution recombination map. This map revealed the mutational features induced by NCO—the dominant form of recombination—along with their sex-specific differences, and quantified, for the first time, the contribution of NCOs to de novo mutations and age-related effects, representing an important milestone in the field of meiotic recombination. Specifically, compared with paternal NCOs, maternal NCOs are fewer in number but span longer regions; they accumulate continuously with increasing maternal age and occur largely outside programmed recombination hotspots. NCOs also represent a major source of de novo mutations, with approximately 11% of maternal de novo mutations being attributable to NCOs. This study not only provides a high-resolution map of human meiotic recombination as a resource for future research, but also offers, for the first time, a genome‑wide perspective on the contribution of meiotic NCO recombination to genetic diversity.
SN - 1000-3282
ER -