Parental age and recombination frequency in the house mouse

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Abstract
SUMMARY: The relationship between parental age and recombination frequency in the offspring of mice has been studied using backcrosses to heterozygous males or females. The mice were allowed to breed until they became infertile. Data for several chromosomes were analysed, mostly from a stock carrying five markers covering approximately three-quarters of the length of chromosome 2.Analyses of two-point recombination ratios or of multi-point interference ratios revealed no consistent age-related heterogeneity in offspring of male or female heterozygotes. A significant age-related heterogeneity was detected in the offspring of female heterozygotes but not of males, when the number of offspring with no detectable recombination was compared to those with one or more. This difference between the sexes could be related to earlier cytological observations on chiasma frequency in oocytes and spermatocytes. The significance of these findings for the analysis of follicular growth in mammals and in the origin of human trisomic conditions is discussed.