Meiotic recombination hotspots.

Meiotic recombination occurs more frequently in some regions of the eukaryotic genome than in others, with variations of several orders of magnitude observed in frequencies of meiotic exchange per unit physical distance. This article reviews what is known abut meiotic recombination hotspots loci, or regions that display a greater than average frequency of meiotic exchange. Hotspots have been most intensively studied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is a major focus of this article. Also reviewed is the current state of knowledge regarding hotspots in other fungi, in maize, in nematodes, in mice, and in humans.