Rekombinationshäufigkeit

Rekombination is a fundamental process in genetics where genetic material is exchanged between different chromosomes or different regions within the same chromosome. This exchange can lead to new combinations of alleles, the different versions of a gene, on a chromosome. The most well-known form of rekombination occurs during meiosis, the specialized cell division that produces gametes (sperm and egg cells). During the prophase I stage of meiosis, homologous chromosomes pair up and undergo a process called crossing over. In crossing over, segments of DNA are broken and reattached to the corresponding chromosome. This shuffling of genetic material is crucial for increasing genetic diversity within a population. Without rekombination, offspring would inherit a complete set of genes from each parent, with no variation. Rekombination also plays a role in DNA repair mechanisms, helping to fix damaged DNA by using a homologous sequence as a template. While crossing over is the most common mechanism, other forms of rekombination exist, including site-specific recombination, which occurs at specific DNA sequences and is often mediated by enzymes called recombinases. This process is important for various cellular functions, including viral integration into host genomes and the rearrangement of antibody genes in the immune system.