LECTURE 4: LINKAGE &

RECOMBINATION
Prepared by: Lean S. Segura, BSBio, RMicro
 Linkage

• A condition in w/c genes have their loci present on same chromosome,

causing them to be inherited as a unit, provided that they are not separated
by crossing over during meiosis.
 Genes Linked on the Same Chromosome
Segregate Together

B
A

http://bio3400.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch05/linkageA.html
http://bio3400.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch05/linkageA.html
http://bio3400.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch05/linkageB.html
http://bio3400.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch05/linkageC.html
 Genes Linked on the Same Chromosome
Segregate Together

B
A

This complete linkage

If a small distance but distinct
produces only parental
distance separates two genes, few
gametes
recombinant and many parental
gametes will be formed.
C

http://bio3400.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch05/linkageA.html
 Note!

• As the distance between the two genes increases, the proportion of

recombinant gametes increases and that of the parental gametes
decreases.
Legend:
Heavy wing vein- (hv)
Brown eye- (bw)
Linkage Ratio
Thin wing veins –(hv+)
Red eyes- (bw+)
 Linkage Group

• A group of genes located at various locations on the same chromosome

that, barring crossing-over, typically behave as a single pair of genes during
meiosis rather than going through independent assortment.
 THOMAS HUNT MORGAN (1910)
• Attributed the non-random segregation of linked genes w/ regards to their
location on the chromosomes.
• He pointed out that genes were arranged in a linear order along the length
of the chromosome & linkage was an indication of their relative proximity to
each other.
• The closer the genes are located on the chromosome, the greater the
probability that they would be inherited together
• The recombinants are, therefore, formed by exchanges of parts between
the homologues chromosomes.
• This process of exchange is known as crossing-over.*
 Deriving Linkage Distance and Gene Order
From Three Point Crosses

The following figure shows the different recombinant

products that are possible.
 P: AABBCC X aabbcc
F1 X aabbcc
Systematic Approach:

First, determine which of the the genotypes are the

parental gentoypes. The genotypes found most
frequently are the parental genotypes.
 P: AABBCC X aabbcc
F1 X aabbcc
Systematic Approach:

Next we need to determine the order of the genes.

• The double-crossover gametes are always in

the lowest frequency
• The next important point is that a double-
crossover event moves the middle allele from
one sister chromatid to the other. 
 P: AABBCC X aabbcc
F1 X aabbcc
Systematic Approach:

• Now that we know the gene order is ACB,

we can go about determining the linkage
distances between A and C, and C and B.

• The linkage distance is calculated by dividing

the total number of recombinant gametes
into the total number of gametes.
 P: AABBCC X aabbcc
F1 X aabbcc
Systematic Approach:

So the distance between genes A and C is 17.9 cM

[100*((81+85+5+8)/1000)], and the distance
between C and B is 7.0 cM [100*((27+30+5+8)/1000)].

A C B

17.9cM 7.0 cM
 Interference & coefficient of coincidence

• Very often the observed frequency of the double crossovers is not the same as
the expected frequency.
• The difference in the frequencies depends on the closeness of the loci
involved, i.e. the closer the loci, the larger the difference & the farther apart
they are, the smaller the difference.
• This relationship happens because the occurrence of a crossover in one region
tends to prevent or interfere w/ the formation of another crossover close to it.
So the distance between genes A and C is 17.9 cM
[100*((81+85+5+8)/1000)], and the distance
between C and B is 7.0 cM [100*((27+30+5+8)/1000)].

The recombination frequency between

genes A and C is 0.179
The recombination frequency between C
and B is 0.07
Therefore: expected frequency for double
recombinants is 13

1
 1

Most often, interference values fall between 0 and 1. Values less than one
indicate that interference is occurring in this region of the chromosome.