The effect of sequence homozygosity on the frequency of X-chromosomal exchange in Drosophila melanogaster females.

The repair of mismatched heteroduplex DNA has been implicated in the normal resolution of meiotic exchange events. Although sequence microheterogeneity over defined intervals of homologous chromosomes has been correlated with local effects on recombination, this correlation has not previously been extended to effects on chromosomal levels of exchange. In order to determine the role of microheterogeneity in normal exchange between homologs, a system was devised for monitoring exchange between isogenic X chromosomes. Lack of microheterogeneity did not significantly alter the frequency of exchange along the isogenic X chromosomes relative to controls or to previously reported values. There were, however, characteristic levels of exchange intrinsic to the cloned X chromosomes in each of the lines tested.