Recombination hotspots are subject to an evolutionary process, called biased gene conversion (BGC), which favors mutations suppressing their recombination activity. The analysis of an archaic human genome (Denisovan) showed that this self-destructive process is extremely fast, as the life expectancy of most active hotspots is less than 100,000 generations. This suggests that the turnover of recombination hotspots might be the consequence of a Red Queen process: the activity of recombination hotspots leads to their rapid loss by BGC, and the genes that determine the location of hotspots are therefore regularly under selective pressure to switch to new targets. See Lesecque et al.
Image Credit: Pauline Sémon
Interview
The Ethics of Our Inquiry: An Interview with Hank Greely
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004780
Review
Regularized Machine Learning in the Genetic Prediction of Complex Traits
PLOS Genetics: published November 13, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004754
Research Articles
The CSN/COP9 Signalosome Regulates Synaptonemal Complex Assembly during Meiotic Prophase I of Caenorhabditis elegans
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004757
The Role of cis Regulatory Evolution in Maize Domestication
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004745
Systematic Analysis of the Role of RNA-Binding Proteins in the Regulation of RNA Stability
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004684
ARTIST: High-Resolution Genome-Wide Assessment of Fitness Using Transposon-Insertion Sequencing
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004782
Genomic Evidence of Rapid and Stable Adaptive Oscillations over Seasonal Time Scales in Drosophila
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004775
Natural Polymorphisms in Human APOBEC3H and HIV-1 Vif Combine in Primary T Lymphocytes to Affect Viral G-to-A Mutation Levels and Infectivity
PLOS Genetics: published November 20, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004761
Regulation of mRNA Abundance by Polypyrimidine Tract-Binding Protein-Controlled Alternate 5′ Splice Site Choice
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004771
Genome-Wide Associations between Genetic and Epigenetic Variation Influence mRNA Expression and Insulin Secretion in Human Pancreatic Islets
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004735
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A Germline Polymorphism of Thymine DNA Glycosylase Induces Genomic Instability and Cellular Transformation
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Stress Granule-Defective Mutants Deregulate Stress Responsive Transcripts
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24-Hour Rhythms of DNA Methylation and Their Relation with Rhythms of RNA Expression in the Human Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
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Pseudoautosomal Region 1 Length Polymorphism in the Human Population
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Rad59-Facilitated Acquisition of Y′ Elements by Short Telomeres Delays the Onset of Senescence
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GPA: A Statistical Approach to Prioritizing GWAS Results by Integrating Pleiotropy and Annotation
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The Red Queen Model of Recombination Hotspots Evolution in the Light of Archaic and Modern Human Genomes
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The Protein O-glucosyltransferase Rumi Modifies Eyes Shut to Promote Rhabdomere Separation in Drosophila
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Three RNA Binding Proteins Form a Complex to Promote Differentiation of Germline Stem Cell Lineage in Drosophila
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Corrections
Correction: Genome-Wide Association Meta-analysis of Neuropathologic Features of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
PLOS Genetics: published November 12, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004867
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Formal Comments
Establishing a Multidisciplinary Context for Modeling 3D Facial Shape from DNA
PLOS Genetics: published November 6, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004725
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PLOS Genetics: published November 20, 2014 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004774
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