The Effect of Temperature and Parental Age on Recombination and Nondisjunction in Caenorhabditis Elegans

The effect of temperature and parental age on recombination frequency in C. elegans was studied between pairs of closely linked markers on linkage groups I and V. In the regions studied, recombination frequency varied three-fold over the temperature range 13.5 degrees to 26 degrees . Temperature-shift experiments indicated that a temperature-sensitive recombination event occurs approximately 50 oocytes prior to fertilization. Recombination frequency was observed to decrease with maternal age. The greatest decrease was observed in the first 24 hours of egg production. The frequency of male progeny, a measure of X-chromosome nondisjunction was also studied. This frequency increased with elevated temperature and age of the parent.