Recombine-o-mania

Chromosomal recombination is an essential part of the life cycle of all sexually reproducing organisms. Yet, the system is complex, involving hundreds to thousands of proteins and RNAs. It also involves DNA repair pathways, which are themselves incredibly complex. The newest available information on recombination tells us it is mutagenic, meaning that recombination erodes the very places where recombination happens. How did such a system arise by chance? Can we assume the recombination rate has always been the same? What happens when a new allele arises in the protein that controls recombination? What is the mutation burden caused by this important system? Finally, how does this affect the creation-evolution debate?

Links and notes:

15 Questions for evolutionists, #8 How did sex originate?

Geeking out about DNA damage repair, June 2023.

Grey et al. 2018 PRDM9, a driver of the genetic map, PLoS Genet 14(8):e1007479.

Altemose et al. 2017 A map of human PRDM9 binding provides evidence for novel behaviors of PRDM9 and other zinc-finger proteins in meiosis, eLife 6:e28383.

Robert Carter gets everything wrong?, creation.com, 10 Jul 2021.

Hussin et al. 2011 Age-dependent recombination rates in human pedigrees, PloS Genetics 7(9):e1002251.

Wang et al. 2012 Genome-wide single-cell analysis of recombination activity and de novo mutation rates in human sperm, Cell 150(2):402–12.

African origins and the rise of carnivory, creation.com,19 Dec 2020.

Hinch, A.G. et al., The landscape of recombination in African Americans, Nature 476:170–177, 2011.

Hinch et al. 2023 Meiotic DNA breaks drive multifaceted mutagenesis in the human germ line, Science 382:eadh2531.