Conservation of the genome-wide recombination rate in white-footed mice

Despite being linked to the fundamental processes of chromosome segregation and offspring diversification, meiotic recombination rates vary within and between species. Recent years have seen progress in quantifying recombination rate evolution across multiple temporal and genomic scales. Nevertheless, the level of variation in recombination rate within wild populations – a key determinant of evolution in this trait – remains poorly documented on the genomic scale. To address this notable gap, we used immunofluorescent cytology to quantify genome-wide recombination rates in a wild population of male white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. For comparison, we measured recombination rates in a second population of male P. leucopus raised in the laboratory and in a lab strain of deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii. Although we found differences between individuals in the genome-wide recombination rate, levels of variation were low – within
populations, between populations, and betw...