Coarsening model of chromosomal crossover placement

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ernst, Marcel, Rossetto, Riccardo, Zwicker, David
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866918139396096000
author Ernst, Marcel
Rossetto, Riccardo
Zwicker, David
author_facet Ernst, Marcel
Rossetto, Riccardo
Zwicker, David
contents Chromosomal crossovers play a crucial role in meiotic cell division, as they ensure proper chromosome segregation and increase genetic variability. Experiments have consistently revealed two key observations across species: (i) the number of crossovers per chromosome is typically small, but at least one, and (ii) crossovers on the same chromosome are subject to interference, i.e., they are more separated than expected by chance. These observations can be explained by a recently proposed coarsening model, where the dynamics of droplets associated with chromosomes designate crossovers. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the coarsening model, which we also extend by including material exchanges between droplets, the synaptonemal complex, and the nucleoplasm. We derive scaling laws for the crossover count, which allows us to analyze data across species. Moreover, our model provides a coherent explanation of experimental data across mutants, including the wild-type and zyp1-mutant of A. thaliana. Consequently, the extended coarsening model provides a solid framework for investigating the underlying mechanisms of crossover placement.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_09521
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Coarsening model of chromosomal crossover placement
Ernst, Marcel
Rossetto, Riccardo
Zwicker, David
Biological Physics
Soft Condensed Matter
Subcellular Processes
Chromosomal crossovers play a crucial role in meiotic cell division, as they ensure proper chromosome segregation and increase genetic variability. Experiments have consistently revealed two key observations across species: (i) the number of crossovers per chromosome is typically small, but at least one, and (ii) crossovers on the same chromosome are subject to interference, i.e., they are more separated than expected by chance. These observations can be explained by a recently proposed coarsening model, where the dynamics of droplets associated with chromosomes designate crossovers. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the coarsening model, which we also extend by including material exchanges between droplets, the synaptonemal complex, and the nucleoplasm. We derive scaling laws for the crossover count, which allows us to analyze data across species. Moreover, our model provides a coherent explanation of experimental data across mutants, including the wild-type and zyp1-mutant of A. thaliana. Consequently, the extended coarsening model provides a solid framework for investigating the underlying mechanisms of crossover placement.
title Coarsening model of chromosomal crossover placement
topic Biological Physics
Soft Condensed Matter
Subcellular Processes
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.09521