P-Element-Induced Male Recombination and Gene Conversion in Drosophila

A P-element insertion flanked by 13 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) marker sites was used to examine male recombination and gene conversion at an autosomal site. The great majority of crossovers on chromosome arm 2R occurred within the 4-kb region containing the P element and RFLP sites. Of the 128 recombinants analyzed, approximately two-thirds carried duplications or deletions flanking the P element. These rearrangements are described in more detail in the accompanying report. In a parallel experiment, we examined 91 gene conversion tracts resulting from excision of the same autosomal P element. We found the average tract length was 1463 bp, which is essentially the same as found previously at the white locus. The distribution of conversion tract endpoints was indistinguishable from the distribution of crossover points among the nonrearranged male recombinants. Most recombination events can be explained by the “hybrid element insertion” model, but, for those lacking a duplication or deletion, a second step involving double-strand gap repair must be postulated to explain the distribution of crossover points.