Data from: Stable recombination hotspots in birds

The DNA-binding protein PRDM9 has a critical role in specifying meiotic
recombination hotspots in mice and apes, but it appears to be absent from
other vertebrate species, including birds. To study the evolution and
determinants of recombination in species lacking the gene that encodes
PRDM9, we inferred fine-scale genetic maps from population resequencing
data for two bird species: the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, and the
long-tailed finch, Poephila acuticauda. We found that both species have
recombination hotspots, which are enriched near functional genomic
elements. Unlike in mice and apes, most hotspots are shared between the
two species, and their conservation seems to extend over tens of millions
of years. These observations suggest that in the absence of PRDM9,
recombination targets functional features that both enable access to the
genome and constrain its evolution.