Towards a comprehensive recombination map of hotspots in sheep

Abstract

Recombination rate is positively associated with genetic diversity (Spencer et al. 2006). Hotspots are regions with a higher recombination rate than average, which could be indicative of diversity in the genome. We used genotype data from Illumina OvineSNP50 Bead Chip on 3908 sheep, to first infer sire haplotypes and then detect the recombination events for the whole genome. We found on average over the genome 0.033 recombination events per mega base pair (Mb). Variance of recombination events between individuals was large, but much smaller between sire groups. Breed was found to have a highly significant effect on recombination events over the genome. Heritability of recombination events was found to be medium (0.25 ± 0.09). A recombination map is a useful tool to better understand the mechanisms of diversity, and this information can be used to have more insight in linkage disequilibrium.