These results pose interesting evolutionary questions. Because recombination involves DNA damage through double-strand breaks, hotspots may be selected against in some highly conserved parts of the genome. In regions exposed to recurrent selection (for example, from changes in environment or pathogen pressure) it is plausible that recombination may be selected for. However, because the fine-scale structure of recombination seems to evolve rapidly42,43 it will be important to learn whether patterns of recombination rate heterogeneity among molecular functions are conserved between species.
