Renewal process approach to the theory of genetic linkage: case of no chromatid interference.

Models are presented in which the distribution of crossovers at a four-four-strand stage of meiosis results from a renewal process. Probability distributions are obtained for the number of crossover events on a meiotic bivalent and for the number of exchange points in random meiotic products. These distributions are found to fit the observed distribution of these variables reasonably well. Using these distributions and assuming no chromatid interference, relations between map distance and the recombination fraction are obtained. These relations give either better or equivalent fit to data when compared to relations that are designed to account for both chromatid and chiasma interference.