Homologous recombination
Homologous recombination occurs in meiosis, during prophase 1 which occurs during the first meiotic division. It is a process where a section of DNA from one of the homologous chromosomes is swapped with the same section on the other homologous chromosome. This creates a new combination of genes between the homologous pair. This recombination increases genetic variation as it produces genetically different DNA to the one it began with, and leads to daughter cells being genetically unidentical. Homologous recombination is important in cells as it is crucial in the support for the recovery of DNA damage[1].
References
- ↑ Alberts, B et al (2002). Chapter 5: DNA Replication, Repair, and Recombination. Molecular Biology of the Cell 4th edition. New York: Garland Science. Homologous recombination in DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance (Xuan Li et al, 2008)